“Little Bliz”

Juvenile Green Sea Turtle

 
In January 2010, an endangered green sea turtle was rescued in the Mosquito Lagoon along with hundreds of others.  On January 18, the turtle was transported to Disney's Animal Kingdom for further care. It had received an eye injury during the massive cold-stunning event. After receiving veterinary treatment,  “Little Bliz” was released in Eddy Creek along the southern reach of the Mosquito Lagoon on March 24, 2010 and we will be monitoring it's movements. Since very little scientific information exists on the life history of green sea turtles, a small satellite transmitter was placed on it's shell, in collaboration with Dr. Alan Bolten of the Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research at the University of Florida. A sonic tag was also placed on it's shell, in collaboration with Jane Provancha of NASA. There are a series of sonic tag readers from Cape Canaveral to Ft. Pierce.  This will give us a closer look at what this little guy is doing if (s)he stays within the coastal inlets.
Little Bliz's Movements - March 2010

Little Bliz’s Diary

March 24, 2010
After about two months of rehab, Little Bliz is released in the Mosquito Lagoon near Titusville.  

March 26-29, 2010
Little Bliz is traveling north. He is currently 15 miles from the release site.  

March 30, 2010
Little Bliz has moved just a half mile south.
 

Little Bliz's Movements - April 2010

April 1-4, 2010
Little Bliz has returned south near his release site.

April 8, 2010
Little Bliz swam 6.5 miles north over the past couple of days.

April 11, 2010
Little Bliz has moved another couple miles north.

April 26, 2010
We lost track of Little Bliz for a while, but he's still on the northern end of his range.

 
Little Bliz's Movements - May 2010
May 9, 2010
We lost track of Little Bliz again, but he's still swimming around the lagoon.

May 11, 2010
Little Bliz has been traveling! We didn't get signals from Bliz' transmitter for a couple weeks, and then the locations were pretty far south, so we weren't sure what we going on.  But the sonic tag confirmed his location. He swam 44 miles south!

May 18, 2010
Still on the move, Little Bliz swam 54 miles south!

May 23, 2010
Little Bliz swam another 18 miles south, and even visited the ocean the other day. The waters must have been rough because he was back in the Indian River Lagoon the next day.

May 29, 2010
Little Bliz swam 20 miles north.

May 30, 2010
We lost Little Bliz's signal, but he has provided excellent information on the movements of juvenile green sea turtles.  Happy swimming Little Bliz and thank you for letting us tag along on your journey!