Cayman Brac hold a turtle patrol

On Saturday the 13th July 2013 in Cayman Brac, The Cayman Islands, the Turtle Patrol Group lead by Mrs. Bonnie Scott-Evans held its very first summer sea turtle outing, which was a Turtle watch day for kids.

The day out proved to be a great success for the kids who participated, in an activity which is a popular past time worldwide.

The Cayman Islands hold turtles close to their heart and their countries history, when Christopher Columbus came across the Cayman Islands in 1503, he named the islands “Las Tortugas” because of the abundance of Green Sea Turtles which where on the islands on their discovery.

The history of the Cayman Islands has since been tied to turtles, In the 1600 and 1700’s the Cayman Islands became a provisioning stop for vessels sailing the Caribbean because of an abundance of green sea turtles, which could be caught and kept alive on board as a source of fresh meat. Permanent settlements developed on the Cayman Islands in the seventeenth century and turtling became a means of income as well as providing a local source of food. This was soon stopped due to the depletion of the species.

The appearance of the turtle on the Cayman Islands’ flag, seal and currency reflects the close association the people have to the turtle.

Now days turtle watching is more used to help children learn how to take care of the environment by helping to aid the preservation of such species.

On the day the kids learnt about the importance of saving sea turtles and the natural beauty one of the worlds oldest creatures graces our shores. The kids where ecstatic on the day when they discovered a nest with hatchlings ready to emerge, apparently 102 baby turtles emerged from the one nest, timing for the turtle patrol couldn’t have been more right.

The day was great and everyone who attended cant wait for the next patrol.