Into the Wild
Krissy Hopkins, part of the Chesapeake Bay Program's Fostering Stewardship team, writes about releasing the Bay Program's three terrapins into the wild. Bay Program staff have cared for the three terrapins -- Secchi, Runoff and Skipjack -- for almost a year as part of the Terrapin Institute.
Waves lapped against the shore, an osprey flew overhead,
warm sand squished between my toes, and all I thought was, “This is home.”
The sights, the sounds, the smells -- they made me wonder what it was like for
our terrapins to experience these things for the first time.
At Kent
Narrows, the place their
mother laid their eggs, we released our brood back into the wild. Our
tender loving care allowed our three terrapins to grow five times larger than
terps of a comparable age in the wild. They truly have a head start on
life thanks to the Terrapin Institute’s
program
The top photo shows the average size of a terrapin one year after hatching; below, Krissy holds two of the Bay Program's terrapins, which are about five times larger at the same age.
Secchi was the first to be released. I set him down in the
soft white sand and he took off instinctively towards the breaking waves.
Without hesitation he swam through the cove and out into open water.
After swimming about 10 yards he popped his little head out of the water and
looked back at us standing on the shore. It was almost as if he was
saying goodbye.
Krissy releases Secchi onto the beach.
Skipjack was the next to go. Liana set this little
lady down a few feet from the water. Skipjack swaggered her way into the
waves. She swam in the cove for a few minutes before making her way
through the breaking waves and into open water.
Liana, another Bay Program staffer, watches Skipjack as she makes her way into the Bay.
Finally it was Runoff’s turn. I sent her down in the
sand, and she just sat there looking up at me. After some encouragement
and a nudge in the right direction her feet finally hit the waters of the Chesapeake and she beelined
it out of the cove.
Runoff heads toward her new home in the Bay.
We all stood on the beach, watching our little babies all
grown up and out on their own. We scanned the water for their little
heads popping out here and there looking back at us. It was goodbye for
the last time.
Being a part of this program and raising our brood will have
a positive impact on this beautiful species and the Chesapeake
Bay. These terrapins made me recognize all the connections
between the land, the water, the people and the critters that call the bay
their home.
I left that morning feeling I was a part of something much
greater than myself; I had made a true Chesapeake
connection.