Tour de Turtles

Six loggerhead sea turtles have started the Tour de Turtles at Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge in Florida, one of the top loggerhead nesting sites in the Western Hemisphere.

This unusual marathon is tracking 11 sea turtles equipped with satellite transmitters to see which will be the first to travel 1,628 miles from its nesting site. The "race" began on August 1 and within nine days, the lead turtle had traveled more than 459 kilometers (285 miles).

The refuge's 21-mile long barrier beach was the only starting site open to the public for viewing. Progress of all 11 turtles can be watched at http:// www.tourdeturtles.org. Each turtle swims for a cause, such as combating plastic debris, light pollution or native species predation.

With the motto "Saving sea turtles is a marathon, not a sprint," the nonprofit Caribbean Conservation Corporation created the Tour de Turtles in 2008 to help raise awareness about marine turtle conservation. Dr. Archie Carr was the founding director of the Caribbean Conservation Corp.

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