NYCkayaker Sea Turtle!

[David Gottlieb]

Not the delicious diamondback terrapin coveted by soup lovers several
centuries ago.... It's a beautiful little turtle, but it isn't a sea turtle
and it only grows between 5 and 7 1/2 inches -- the male being 1/3 smaller
than the female. The terrapin, which was loved for its supposedly delicious
meat was hunted to near extinction in the 18th and 19th centuries....

Unlike the sea turtles we discussed, the diamondback lives in brackish
waters like tidal marshes, lagoons and some less salty estuaries.... The
turtles I mentioned, was a response to a possible identification. This
turtle was larger and seen in the LI Sound. Sea turtles live in oceans and
large bays, not he brackish waters.... So that's why I didn't bring up
diamondbacks. But thanks for mentioning them. They are very beautiful and
delicate-looking turtles.

Diamondback Terrapins are also protected and making soup from them is no
longer legal....


On 8/14/07 2:35 PM, "GDK" <kuhn1818 at earthlink.net> wrote:

> I'm surprised you don't mention the Diamondback Terrapin which actually swims
> into shore beaches to lay eggs in our area.

-----Original Message-----
>From:
> Dennis Wiener <dwiener at earthlink.net>
>Sent: Aug 13, 2007 9:14 AM
>To:
> nyckayaker at rockandwater.net
>Subject: Re: NYCkayaker Sea Turtle!
>
>I'm pretty
> sure all sea turtles are protected, and considered endangered.
>
>David
> Gottlieb wrote:
>> No, you probably weren¹t hallucinating.... When the waters
> are warm, 
>> sea turtles migrate to the Sound from the south and then as our
> waters 
>> cool they travel south again. I believe there are three species of
> 
>> turtles in the sound and I¹ve seen them on a number of occasions while 
>>
> hiking along the shore and while sailing, but unfortunately never in a 
>>
> kayak. Of the three species I know of in the sound it could have been 
>>
> Loggerhead, ridleys or Green sea turtles, probably juvenile as the 
>> adults
> of these species prefer deeper waters. There are also 
>> Leatherbacks, but
> they usually stick to deeper waters in the Atlantic 
>> and are rarely seen in
> the sound.
>>
>> Ridleys and Leatherbacks, I believe, are both on the
> endangered 
>> species list. Ridley¹s is the smallest species of which adults
> grow up 
>> to 100 pounds and leatherbacks are the largest of the four species
> and 
>> can weigh as much as 1,600 lbs.... The other two species are more 
>>
> common, although the and these adults weigh in about 500 to 600 
>> lbs....
> Did you notice what colors or patterns were on the shell???
>>
>> The lifespan
> of some of these turles can be 75 years or more. The 
>> lifespan of the
> Leatherback is unknown.... By the way, no man eating 
>> turtles around the
> Sound....
>>
>>
>> On 8/13/07 6:37 AM, "Emile Zen" <emilezen at yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>>
>>     Is this a common sight in the Long Island Sound? I saw one
>>
> yesterday, while paddling from Glen Cove to Mamaroneck after a
>>     Swim
> Across America event.
>>
>>
>>
>>     As it approached my starboard bow, I
> thought it was a plastic
>>     garbage bag, floating one or two feet under
> the surface of the
>>     water. But then its shape became unmistakable. The
> shell must have
>>     been around two feet in diameter. It continued swimming
> in the
>>     opposite direction to mine, and I didn't turn for a better
> look
>>     because I was in the middle of the shipping channel.
>>
>>
>>
>>
> It was a split second thrill. Hope I wasn't hallucinating...
>>
>>
>>
>>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
> **********************************************************************
>> The
> NYCKayaker mailing list is hosted by www.rockandwater.net, and is a public
> service offered to the kayaking community by the Hudson River Watertrail
> Association. Learn more about HRWA at www.hrwa.org
>>
>> To unsubscribe or
> change delivery options:
>>
> http://www.rockandwater.net/mailman/listinfo/nyckayaker
>>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
> No virus found in this incoming message.
>> Checked by AVG Free Edition. 
>>
> Version: 7.5.476 / Virus Database: 269.11.15/949 - Release Date: 8/12/2007
> 11:03 AM
>>   
> 
>
>**********************************************************************
>Th
> e NYCKayaker mailing list is hosted by www.rockandwater.net, and is a public
> service offered to the kayaking community by the Hudson River Watertrail
> Association. Learn more about HRWA at www.hrwa.org
>
>To unsubscribe or change
> delivery 
> options:
>http://www.rockandwater.net/mailman/listinfo/nyckayaker


Gloria
***
> *******************************************************************
The
> NYCKayaker mailing list is hosted by www.rockandwater.net, and is a public
> service offered to the kayaking community by the Hudson River Watertrail
> Association. Learn more about HRWA at www.hrwa.org

To unsubscribe or change
> delivery options:
http://www.rockandwater.net/mailman/listinfo/nyckayaker