Believe it or not, Dylan is back on the map!  As most of you probably know from following her tracking map on www.seaturtle.org, the last signal we received from her was on October 30, 2008.  Well surprise, surprise…out of no where she transmitted 2 very good, high quality signals on Feb 25, 2009…in the Gulf of Mexico no less!

Here is another view from GoogleEarth5:

As explained in previous BLOGs, the loss of satellite transmission was probably due more to a problem with the transmitter (dead battery, broken antennae, internal malfunction and/or dislodged unit) rather than a problem with the turtle herself.  Dylan has always been a feisty juvenile sea turtle and juveniles are known to be tough on their transmitters.  So although we hope for 1-2 years of transmissions from any turtle we release with a transmitter, it was not a big surprise when she stoppped transmitting.

How did she get into the Gulf of Mexico from the east coast of Florida?  Glad you asked!  No, she didn’t cross over the peninsula by car, plane or train.  Nor did she crawl over land.  And it is highly unlikely that someone carried her.  The most logical explanation is that she swam south along the east coast of Florida, around the keys and out into the Gulf.  This migration may be the explanation as to why we haven’t received any good signals from her in a while.  If she was traveling and spending a lot of time underwater, the transmitter wasn’t being allowed enough surface time to transmit a good signal.
So for now, she looks like she’s doing just fine, behavinglike a ‘normal’ sea turtle and going where sea turtles in her size class go.  Let’s hope she keeps transmitting!  Click here to check out Dylan’s tracking page.

Sincerely,
Stefanie Ouellette
Marine Field Programs Coordinator