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As the Great Canadian Turtle Race draws to a close, we\u2019ve watched our remaining race contender, Agile Abigail,<\/a> inch ever closer to her Florida nesting beach. She\u2019s only 60 kilometres away now. So close<\/em>. Which might lead you to wonder \u2013 is this Leatherback Sea Turtle going to nest?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gearing Up for a Landing<\/p>\n After a journey that spans hundreds of kilometres, female Leatherbacks raring to nest slow their speed when they reach an area just offshore from the nesting beaches, called their inter-nesting habitats. Here they\u2019ll brush shells with male Leatherbacks who often journey to these waters to find mates. But they\u2019ll also take the opportunity for two to four months to scout out the best spot to nest along the beach to lay their eggs.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Feeling Nesty<\/p>\n When they are ready to nest, females will wait for nightfall to come ashore and get the lay of the land. Are their bright lights? Animals scurrying about the beach? Humans present? Is the beach covered with tree branches? All these factors might stop a Leatherback from nesting, and if so, they\u2019ll return to their inter-nesting habitats again. But they\u2019re persistent creatures. They\u2019ll make this journey every 10 days or so until the time (and the setting) is right.<\/p>\n When they decide to nest, they get to work and begin to dig into the sand with their hind flippers \u2013 well above the high water mark. They\u2019ll keep digging until they\u2019ve dug a pit approximately 75 centimetres deep. There they\u2019ll lay between 60 and 120 eggs. However not all of them contain hatchlings \u2013 approximately 15 per cent of the eggs will not be fertilized.<\/p>\n Females will land on their nesting beach between six and ten times to lay eggs \u2013 older mature females lay more nests than their younger counterparts. And then? They\u2019ll make their way back into the water, leaving their young to hatch and make their way to the sea on their own.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n New Life<\/p>\n For 60 days, these eggs will sit on the beach, waiting to hatch. When they finally do, tiny Leatherbacks scramble for the sea, and sadly 10 per cent of them are snatched up by predators before they reach the ocean. Sadder still, only 25 per cent that dip into the salt water will survive their first day, and merely six percent will survive their first year.<\/p>\n Where do surviving hatchlings go after they\u2019ve reached the water? No one knows. They\u2019re called the \u2018lost years\u2019 because tracking down hatchlings and juveniles in the ocean has proven remarkably difficult. We only see these hatchlings again in 15 to 25 years, when females are mature enough to return to the very nesting beaches they were born upon, so they themselves can lay eggs. And so the cycle continues. Generation upon generation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n They\u2019re remarkable creatures, aren\u2019t they? Marathon swimmers. Death deifiers. We\u2019re so privileged to be able to witness their incredible journey.<\/p>\n Stay up to speed with the Great Canadian Turtle Race<\/a> and find out if Abby is going to nest this year.<\/p>\n If you\u2019d like to help animals like the leatherback, we\u2019d be so grateful for your donation today.<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Good luck, Abby. We\u2019ll be watching!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n ————————————————————————————<\/p>\n \n Comme la Grande course canadienne des tortues tire \u00e0 sa fin, nous continuons de suivre la concurrente restante, Agile Abigail<\/a>, qui s\u2019approche petit \u00e0 petit de la plage de nidification en Floride. Il ne lui reste que 60 kilom\u00e8tres \u00e0 parcourir. Elle est tout pr\u00e8s de sa destination\u2026 ce qui soul\u00e8ve la question suivante : va-t-elle faire son nid?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pr\u00e9paration \u00e0 l\u2019ascension<\/p>\n Apr\u00e8s un voyage qui s\u2019\u00e9tend sur des centaines de kilom\u00e8tres, la femelle qui se pr\u00e9pare \u00e0 nicher ralentit \u00e0 une certaine distance du rivage dans ce qu\u2019on appelle son habitat inter-ponte. C\u2019est ici qu\u2019elle c\u00f4toiera les m\u00e2les qui se sont rendus dans ces eaux pour s\u2019accoupler. Mais elle en profite aussi pour \u00e9tudier le rivage durant deux \u00e0 quatre mois afin d\u2019y rep\u00e9rer le meilleur endroit pour y pondre ses \u0153ufs.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n D\u2019humeur \u00e0 nicher<\/p>\n Lorsqu\u2019elle est pr\u00eate \u00e0 nicher, la femelle attend la tomb\u00e9e du jour pour se hisser sur la plage et t\u00e2ter le terrain, pour ainsi dire. Y a-t-il des lumi\u00e8res aveuglantes? Des animaux qui d\u00e9talent sur la plage? Des \u00eatres humains? La plage est-elle recouverte de branches d\u2019arbre? Tous ces facteurs peuvent emp\u00eacher la tortue luth de faire son nid. Elle retournera alors \u00e0 son habitat inter-ponte. Mais elle est pers\u00e9v\u00e9rante. Elle se dirigera vers la plage \u00e0 peu pr\u00e8s tous les dix jours jusqu\u2019\u00e0 ce que la situation soit id\u00e9ale \u00e0 la ponte.<\/p>\n Une fois qu\u2019elle d\u00e9cide de nicher, elle se met au travail et creuse un trou dans le sable \u2013 bien au-del\u00e0 de la laisse de haute mer \u2013 \u00e0 l\u2019aide de ses nageoires post\u00e9rieures. Elle continuera de creuser jusqu\u2019\u00e0 ce que le trou atteigne une profondeur d\u2019environ 75\u00a0centim\u00e8tres. C\u2019est dans ce trou qu\u2019elle pondra de 60 \u00e0 120\u00a0\u0153ufs. Approximativement 15\u00a0p. 100 de ces \u0153ufs ne seront pas fertiles.<\/p>\n La femelle retournera de six \u00e0 dix fois \u00e0 la plage de nidification pour pondre des \u0153ufs (la femelle plus \u00e2g\u00e9e niche plus souvent que la femelle plus jeune). Et ensuite? Elle r\u00e9int\u00e9grera l\u2019oc\u00e9an. Les \u0153ufs se mettront \u00e9ventuellement \u00e0 \u00e9clore et les nouveau-n\u00e9s se dirigeront d\u2019eux-m\u00eames vers la mer.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Vie naissante<\/p>\n Les \u0153ufs prendront environ 60\u00a0jours \u00e0 \u00e9clore. Les nouveau-n\u00e9s \u00e9mergent alors des \u0153ufs et se dirigent vers la mer. Malheureusement, 10\u00a0p.\u00a0100 d\u2019entre eux deviendront la proie de pr\u00e9dateurs avant de se rendre \u00e0 l\u2019oc\u00e9an. Plus triste encore, seulement 25\u00a0p.\u00a0100 des jeunes luths qui atteindront la mer survivront plus d\u2019une journ\u00e9e et \u00e0 peine 6 p. 100, plus d\u2019un an.<\/p>\n O\u00f9 vont les nouveau-n\u00e9s une fois dans l\u2019eau? Personne ne le sait. On appelle les ann\u00e9es qui suivent les \u00ab\u00a0ann\u00e9es perdues\u00a0\u00bb puisqu\u2019il est extr\u00eamement difficile de suivre les nouveau-n\u00e9s et les jeunes luths dans l\u2019oc\u00e9an. Nous les retrouvons que vers l\u2019\u00e2ge de 15 \u00e0 25 ans, lorsque les femelles sont en \u00e2ge de retourner aux plages de nidification o\u00f9 elles sont n\u00e9es pour nicher \u00e0 leur tour. Et c\u2019est ainsi que le cycle se poursuit, d\u2019une g\u00e9n\u00e9ration \u00e0 l\u2019autre.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ce sont des animaux remarquables, non? De vrais nageurs de longue distance. Capables de d\u00e9fier la mort. Nous sommes privil\u00e9gi\u00e9s d\u2019\u00eatre t\u00e9moins de leur incroyable voyage.<\/p>\n