Featured
Gumbo Limbo Celebrate the Grand Opening of the New Downtown Library
Source:
Gumbo Limbo Nature Center
Date:
June 15, 2013
Boca Raton’s brand new Downtown Library is opening on Saturday, June 22! The Grand Opening Celebration will feature a variety of events:
10 AM: Ribbon Cutting
11 AM: Harry Potter’s World Exhibit
11 AM – 1 PM: Meet Gumbo Limbo’s Sea Turtle Ambassador, “Luna”
Noon – 2 PM: Family Carnival
2-3 PM: Treats for Teen
4 PM: Film – The City Dark. Discussion will follow, led by Gumbo Limbo’s Kirt Rusenko and Ben Kolstad, International Dark-Sky Association Palm Beach.
Featured
Gumbo Limbo Summer Camp - Four Openings For Week 7
Source:
Gumbo Limbo Nature Center
Date:
June 13, 2013
As of June 13, there are four openings in Week 7 (July 29-Aug 2) of Gumbo Limbo's Summer Environmental Camp. Week 7 is for kids entering grades 5 and 6 in the Fall. The hours are 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. If you are interested, please complete your registration form and mail it to the Camp Boca Raton office ASAP! Starting May 28, walk-in registration available at the Boca Raton Community Center (registration for this camp is not handled at Gumbo Limbo).
Through games, crafts, and educational activities, our instructors will teach
the young conservationist about the importance of caring for and protecting
sea turtles and other marine life. Campers will experience close encounters with
our resident sea turtles and visit a local nesting beach.
Fish Tank Kings Episode Features Gumbo Limbo Nature Center
Source:
Gumbo Limbo Nature Center
Date:
June 7, 2013
Featured
Updated: Turtle Walk Tickets Available
Source:
Gumbo Limbo Nature Center
Date:
June 7, 2013
Did you know that last year we had RECORD HIGH loggerhead nesting in Boca Raton? This equated to a nesting loggerhead turtle being seen during 75% of our TURTLE WALK PROGRAMS! Our Turtle Walk Programs include an ecology walk on the beach, so even if we aren’t able to see a nesting turtle, we do enjoy an evening walk on the beach.
While we can’t guarantee you will see a turtle on a Turtle Walk, you will see baby sea turtles scurry into the ocean during our HATCHLING RELEASE PROGRAM. Did you know Gumbo Limbo Nature Center is one of only three facilities in Florida permitted to conduct public Hatchling Release Programs?
Tickets must be purchased in advance for both of these programs and tickets sell out. No tickets are sold at the door. General Public Tickets are $17 each. Existing Members of Friends of Gumbo Limbo may purchase a specific number of tickets (based on Membership Level) for $10 each. Scroll down for ticket limits.
Gumbo Limbo featured in an episode of Fish Tank Kings!
The team has been commissioned to revive a showcase aquarium . They must create a seascape that mirrors a sea turtle's natural habitat. However, the tank's marine life, including sharks and stingrays cannot be removed from the premises, so someone will have to swim with the carnivores. Tune into NatGeo Wild on Saturday, June 8 at 9:00 p.m.
Many of you have requested an update on one of our patients, Fast Track. As you know Fast Track is here from what appeared to be a boat strike wound on the midline of its carapace. Fortunately, this wound did not interfere with its mobility to swim, but the gash has left his vertebrae exposed. We have been treating the open wound with honey and giving delicate wound care, along with antibiotics to heal the infection. On the 18th of May, Fast Track’s exposed bone finally fell off on its own, which is what we were hoping for. Now Fast Track’s wound can fill in with healthy tissue! Hopefully the next update you read will be of Fast Track’s release!
Along the Coast: Tiny hawksbill rescued, revitalized, released
Source:
The Coastal Star
Date:
May 30, 2013
Easter the hawksbill turtle had its own resurrection, thanks to Delray Beach resident Joan Lorne.
The teacher’s aide was walking along the beach with her twin brother, Tim Paller, also of Delray Beach, on Easter Sunday when she found the young turtle.
As a sea turtle monitor, she watches out for hatchlings and nests along a three-mile shoreline from southern Ocean Ridge to northern Delray Beach and scours the beach to mark nests before the cleaning crews come in. She also rescues stranded hatchlings.
Wildlife ‘rescues’ can do more harm than good
Source:
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Date:
May 7, 2013
Winter is finally over. Trees and flowers are blossoming, birds are building nests and critters are being born.
This is also the time of year when the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) begins getting calls about “abandoned” animals that folks believe may be in need of rescue. The fact is that rescuing these seemingly abandoned youngsters interferes with the very processes that ensure their survival in the wild.
After giving birth, adult wildlife must forage to provide food for themselves and their young. This means leaving their newborns for short periods.
Surprise nesting leatherback seen during a stormy afternoon
Source:
Gumbo Limbo Nature Center
Date:
May 6, 2013
For almost forty years, Boca Raton’s Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program has monitored sea turtle nesting activity on Boca Raton beaches. While the majority of sea turtles nest at night, occasionally a sea turtle will come ashore during daylight hours to lay her eggs. On Thursday (May 2) afternoon, one leatherback turtle did just that, despite the torrential rain.
Gumbo Limbo Nature Center’s Maine Conservationist, Kirt Rusenko, was called to the site in Spanish River Park by Boca Raton Ocean Rescue. “I arrived to witness a large, healthy leatherback sea turtle laying her eggs in the sand. After about an hour, she completed her nest and returned to the ocean. Usually a daytime nesting sea turtle would draw a crowd; however, the severe weather kept people off the beach.”