Nesting loggerhead turtle killed by car on Anna Maria Island

BRADENTON BEACH, Fla. – A Manatee County turtle watching group reports that a loggerhead turtle that had just finished nesting near Coquina Beach was struck and killed by a car early Wednesday morning.

“I was devastated when I heard she was hit,” said Kristen Mazzarella, executive director of Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch & Shorebird Monitoring (AMITWSBM). “A female can build five to seven nests in a season, and so the loss of a female is a huge loss for that year and for years to come.”

Mazzarella said the loggerhead turtle had just nested and was likely disoriented by a streetlight above a crosswalk when it was struck on Gulf Drive South. She said situations like this are not uncommon on Anna Maria Island. Of the 404 nests on the island last year, 105 were disoriented turtles, according to AMITWSBM.

“Not all of them went out into the street,” Mazzarella said. “Some of them may have gone to a house or pool lights or lights. Again, from people walking on the beach at night – it could have just been the light from a cell phone.”

Loggerhead turtles are protected as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act. According to information from AMITWSBM, turning off lights, using red or yellow LED bulbs, and shielding from the beach can help prevent turtles from wandering away from the water.

As for the solution for Gulf Dr. South, Mazzarella said it could be difficult. The street is right next to the beach parking lot, and she said it could be a challenge to find adequate lighting to keep motorists and pedestrians safe while also protecting the sea turtles.

“We learn from every situation, and we will learn from this one whether these lights were adequately shielded or in the right spectrum,” Mazzarella said.

She said these could be among the methods AMITWSBM is considering to protect the turtle nest.

“In addition, it is in direct view of the traffic lights on the road, and therefore we must either take measures to prevent them from driving towards those lights, or we must check whether anything can happen to the lights, for example by shielding them,” said Mazzarella.

Anyone who sees a turtle in distress on Anna Maria Island can call AMITWSBM at (941) 301-8434 or the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922.