Hawksbill HopeEgg-Laying Day One
My 24-hour surveillance of the egg-laying process officially began today at noon. Fifteen plastic boxes sit in a row on the lab benches. Each holds a metal rack and just enough water so the surface barely touches the rack. The turtles were injected with oxytocin to be put to labor and placed on the racks.
A mother turtle takes a peak as I open the lid to take a picture.
Not half an hour had passed before the first egg was laid. After
fishing out an egg, I would wash it in distilled water to remove any mucus.
Then I would dry, weigh, and label it. Each egg is designated a letter-number
combination. The letter indicates the female turtle that laid the egg; the
number, its place in the order of her eggs. I would then bury the egg halfway
in the sand.
Each box holds eight eggs, all labeled and placed in order.
Hawksbill Hope tagged turtles
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