July 6, 2017 — Squirt, an 11-month old turtle raised by a team of volunteers, flailed its legs in the air as it was lowered into the marshes off a barrier island near Grand Isle.
“Welcome home, Squirt,” said Rachael Creech as her husband Stephen placed the reptile along the bay side of the island, known as Chenier Ronquille.
After some hesitation, Squirt navigated the marsh grasses and plopped into the bay, where it quickly settled on some floating vegetation.
Squirt was the smallest of a batch of 21 diamondback terrapins released Thursday after their eggs were discovered last year during restoration work on the island after the BP oil spill.
The 2- to 4-inch terrapins, which hatched last August, were deemed ready to return to the wild by state researchers, who had helped oversee their collection and care.
By ones and twos, scientists and volunteers grasped the reptiles by their distinctive shells and lowered them into the grass at the water’s edge.
Some of the turtles headed straight for the water, while others were more tentative. More than one made a U-turn and headed back toward the crowd that had gathered to watch the release. Others dove in and their noses could soon be seen yards off the bank, popping up to the surface before they dove again.
“Maybe we’ll see you again someday,” state biologist Keri Landry said.
If not for the BP oil spill, the presence of terrapins on Chenier Ronquille might never have been known.
It was only when federal contractors working for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were searching for bird eggs along the island’s sandy shores last July that they noticed the terrapin eggs there as well. They called the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to collect the eggs. Until that point, the state was unaware that terrapins lived on the island.