Here is a post I authored (and some colleagues edited) for the official Everglades National Park social media channels. (So it's NPS public domain work.)
"Rangers take the skies 🚁
Today was Ranger Ross’ first ride in a park helicopter. He and wildlife biologist, Mark Parry, were headed out to survey alligator nests. As they dug into their first nest of the day to assess the status of the gator eggs, they were surprised to also find baby Florida redbelly turtles!
(If Ranger Ross were the superstitious type, he would call this a sign. He likes turtles.)
Florida redbelly turtles lay their eggs in gator nests to benefit from the nest material piled high and the maternal care of gators who defend their nests and deter predators.
While alligators have exceptionally strong bites, Florida redbelly turtles have exceptionally thick shells. This helps to protect an adult female turtle from the adult female gator. The mother gator may take a break from nest guard duty in the daytime when predators are less active. This gives the mother turtle an opportunity to amble over and deposit her eggs.
In this nest, the baby turtles hatched first. They are too small to dig their own way out so they will wait for the alligators to hatch and call out for their mother. The mother gator will excavate her babies, carry them to the water in her mouth, and sometimes do the same for the baby turtles. Perhaps maternal instincts drive this behavior of not eating the baby turtles.
This nesting arrangement benefits the turtle at no cost to the gator, though perhaps a few of the young turtles will later become food for gators.
Swipe for cute turtle pic!
NPS Photos
Image 1 and 2 by Mark Parry
Image 3 by Ross Studlar
