UPDATE 10/3: This just in! We inventoried Carrie’s first nest today (remember she nested twice), and it had a “monstrous” number of hatchlings—161 to be exact. This is our largest loggerhead nest this year!

It’s a boy . . . and a girl . . . and another boy . . . and another girl! Well, we don’t know exactly how many boy and girls there were (did you know that the sex of a baby sea turtle is determined by the temperature of the nest?), but we do know that Tour de Turtles loggerhead sea turtle mom Claire’s nest had 99 hatchlings.



Those of you who’ve been following our Tour de Turtles posts over the summer know that, in July, two Disney-sponsored sea turtles, Claire and Carrie (named for characters in the Disney•Pixar film “Monsters University“), who had laid their eggs the night before, returned to the sea at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort. The turtles were fitted with satellite transmitters and released near the resort as part of the Sea Turtle Conservancy’s annual “Tour de Turtles“, which follows the marathon migration of 12 sea turtles from their nesting beaches to their foraging grounds.

Just a few days ago, Claire’s hatchlings emerged from their nest. We’re still awaiting the results of Carrie’s nests — in a Tour de Turtles first, she came ashore twice in the same year to nest near Disney’s Vero Beach Resort. During nesting season, guests visiting Disney’s Vero Beach Resort, Disney’s Animal Kingdom and The Seas with Nemo & Friends at Epcot can adopt the nest of a sea turtle that lays her eggs at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort.

The adoption fee is directed through the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund (DWCF) to sea turtle conservation efforts in Florida. This past nesting season, guests adopted nearly 200 turtle nests, resulting in more than $7,000 directed to the DWCF to support conservation of Florida’s sea turtles and their habitats this year.

Want to find out more about Disney’s sea turtle conservation efforts? Check out our new video.