The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1949-11-24

/ table, then one may say that only
the sigh of the turtle is lost.
The shells are used for bird
baths, advertising signs, and have
many other uses, besides being
made into curios.
Highly Intelligent
These creatures from the briny
deep are among natures most in
teresting, and though they may
not look it, close observation and
study will prove them to be-
highly intelligent
With pleasurabIe delight I re-
call a sparkling, bright, full-moon
night last June. Frank Butler"
Key, drove me to the Bahia
Honda bsidge thirty-odd miles
east of Key West to the shore of
the Atlantic Ocean. There we
built fire and cooked the fish
we enthusiastically, what a,
delicious meal that was in the
open, under the starlit sky, the
bridge span SIS feet above US, and
the shimmering blue and green
waters of the ocean at our feet.
We had gone there primarily to
watch a mother turtle lay her
second nest of eggs. Every mo-
ment of our six-hour stay was
tense with excitement, and new
thrilling experience. There were
six members in our party, and
while some tended the fire, others
walked in opposite directions
scanning the beach for turtle
tracks. Exactly thirteen days be-
fore that date, a mother turtle
had been seen on that beach, and
according to precedent, she was.
to return the particular night we.
chose, and at high tide. Our pres.
ence there would have no effect
whatever on her according to my
companions, native Key West
fishermen. She would complete
her errand and return to the
waters, disregarding us and the
| fire entirely.
Hard To Locale
During the months of May,
| June and July these mother tur-
ties crawl at full tide, high on the
| beach; dig a beautiful hole in the
sand, funnel-shapped, the point
i on the bottom The top of the
hole is usually about eight inches
| in circumference. So precise is
her art that no machine could
possibly duplicate her handiwork.
The dimensions of the hole are
perfect, and when it is completed,
! she lays her eggs, about $50 the
. ! first time, starting with one on
, the bottom, and then proceeding
I upward in beautifully placed
! circles toward the top row, which
/ invariably contains full dozen
This nest she carefully covers
t with sand, and camouflages the
: spot cleverly with grass and
!, whatever lays nearby. So perfect
a job does she do that experts
E seeking her eggs find it exceed
S ingly difficult to locate them.
: On her second visit to the
| beach she usually lays about 25C
Ell eggs, sometimes only a few feet
: from her first nest, and if she re-
81 peats a, third time she only Laws
about rs eggs. Generally she lays
between four and five hundred
{ eggs during her three visits, ir
three separate nests. Her egg:
i look very much like golf balls
h though somewhat smaller, smooth
j and soft-shelled, and when press.
i ed by the fingers remain in the
indented condition much as {
h punctured rubber ball viii do
t Many people are extremely fonc
s of this delicacy. and gladly pay /;
5 premium for the eggs.
. A Mystery OF Nature
d How this intelligent creatur,
n can dig SO beautiful and perfec
n cone-shaped hole 49, inche,
I deep with her flipper, which i
only IA inches long, is one of ma
: lures mysteries.
S When she is completely salts
e fled that her nest is well hidden
e the mother turtle crawls into tn,