Symposium 2015—40 Years of
Protecting Loggerhead Turtles
O
n November 11, 2015, the Kiawah Conservancy
together with the Our World program of
the Kiawah Island Community Association
presented the second symposium in what
seems to be becoming an annual series. For 2014, the topic
was “40 Years of Designing with Nature.” In 2015, loggerhead
turtles were front and center.
To begin the program, Maggie Schein read the lovely
description found on the opposite page. Her husband,
Jonathan Hannah, has drawn the beautiful illustration to
accompany it. (For information on obtaining a print of the
illustration, email [email protected]) These talented
artists prepared these works especially for the occasion.
Maggie is a special assistant to author Pat Conroy, holds a
PhD from the University of Chicago, and has just published
her first book, Lost Cantos of the Ouroboros Caves.
The first presentation of the evening was a documentary
film made by undergraduate students: The Loggerhead: A
Question of Survival. (1973, Rhett Talbert, Gene Furchgott
and McLeod Rhodes. Science and Nature Films General
Collections. Moving Image Research Collections. University
of South Carolina.) The students spent the summer studying
and filming loggerhead turtles on Kiawah Island. They
had visited the island as teenagers when it was virtually
uninhabited and came to love the beauty of the place.
During those days, they also developed a particular
interest in the huge turtles that nested each season on the
peaceful beach. Rhett Talbert, the featured narrator in the
film, and Gene Furchgott, the videographer who produced
it, returned for the symposium to share their memories with
a rapt audience. Presentation of the video was made possible
through the permission of the University of South Carolina’s
Moving Images Research Collections. John Mark Dean,
professor emeritus from USC, served as academic advisor to
the students during their project and spoke at the symposium
about the importance of their research during the past 40 years.
Mary Alice Monroe, the award-winning author from the
Isle of Palms, spoke about her passion for loggerheads and
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how she wrote about them in The Beach House. She read a
passage about the myth of the turtle’s tears from this book. It
is presently being made into a feature film for the Hallmark
Channel.
Jim Jordan, Town of Kiawah Island wildlife biologist,
presented a summary of the activities involving loggerhead
turtles on Kiawah during the past two decades as well
as an update on the 2015 season. Kevin Mills, chair and
president of the South Carolina Aquarium, described the
Aquarium’s efforts to rescue sea turtles and gave an exciting
preview of the state-of-the-art turtle hospital currently under
construction at the Charleston facility.
The highlight of the event was the 2015 season
documentary presented by nationally recognized
videographer, Cynthia P. Neal. She spent the season with
her outstanding team from Nashville, Tennessee, filming
loggerhead turtles on Kiawah Island. At the heart of the video
was the incredible scene of a female loggerhead making her
way onto the beach at 2 a.m., digging her nest, laying her eggs,
and slowly returning to the sea under the light of a full moon.
This selection was particularly enchanting because it vividly
echoed a very similar scene in the 1973 video. The filming
was made possible by the cooperation of Joe Pezzullo and
the Kiawah Island turtle patrol as well as the expert advice
and technical assistance of Charlotte Hope from the South
Carolina Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Sally Murphy, a long-time DNR employee and turtle
expert, also attended the event. Sally is responsible for much
of the research about this species and has been instrumental
in developing protocols for their protection used all along the
eastern seaboard.
Jack Kotz presided over the evening as master of
ceremonies and promised the audience to return in 2016 with
ALLIGATORS! NK
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