Tennessee Aquarium penguins go gaga for nesting rocks

Gallery: Tennessee Aquarium penguins go gaga for nesting rocks

Love is in the air at the Tennessee Aquarium and it’s causing mayhem.

It’s penguin nesting season.

Every year, the first week of April is an exciting time for the macaroni and gentoo penguins that share an exhibit at Chattanooga’s downtown aquarium. Instincts start to kick in as the summer approaches, but the official green light comes when workers dump a load of rocks into the exhibit so the birds can build their nests.

But at least for the first couple of days, that isn’t an orderly process. The birds jockey with one another for the best spots in the exhibit and fight over rocks, even stealing them away from one another’s nests.

“There’s a lot of drama going on,” said Loribeth Lee, an aviculturist who looks over the penguins. “The best-looking rock is the one someone else has.”

For some of the penguins this year there is even more drama than the usual nest-claiming and rock-stealing.

“Iggie can’t decide between these two females,” she said while pointing to a tubby, macaroni penguin lounging against the back wall of the exhibit. “He really likes Shamrock, but Noodle is an option, too.”

The downtown aquarium is home to 26 penguins in total, 15 gentoo and 11 macaroni, but only 19 of those birds are old enough to breed. The odd number means one of the females is going to be left without a mate.

Lee said, “Noodle has been the odd one out every year, so we’re kind of rooting for her.”

Over the next few weeks, aquarium workers will haul nearly 500 pounds of rocks into the exhibit for the inhabitants to work with and, hopefully, the result will be a fresh batch of eggs and some new chicks. The aquarium has had 18 chicks hatch since 2009, just a handful every year, and workers hope to see another few join the group in the coming months.

It remains to be seen what kind of chicks may hatch this year, but workers hope to see an extra macaroni or two, preferably male, to balance the demographics of the exhibit. New chicks have been predominantly female gentoos over the past few years. But Lee and her coworkers will be happy to see chicks regardless.

And for now, the penguins that are already there are a sight to see, especially this week as families and visitors swarm to the aquarium on their spring break to watch the birds build their temporary nests.

“Whoa, that one just stole a rock,” 9-year-old Abigail Smith shouted to her mom with her hands on the glass.

“That’s mean, but he’s cute.”

Contact staff writer Emmett Gienapp at egienapp@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6731.

Tennessee Aquarium penguins go gaga for nesting rocks

Turtles nesting at a record pace in SC

The summer of 2015 is expected to be a record-setting one in South Carolina for sea turtle nests.

The state set a record for nests in 2013 with 5,198, according to Charlotte Hope, a biologist with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources. This year there have already been more than 2,600, with about two months to go.

Pawleys Island has already had 10 this year, after only recording four all of last year, according to Mary Schneider, head of the island’s chapter of the South Carolina United Turtle Enthusiasts. There have also been seven in South Litchfield.

“We’re way above last year,” Schneider said.

On June 20, a determined turtle crawled onto a Pawleys beach four times before finally returning a fifth time to deposit her eggs.

Pawleys Island was also the site of two rescues on June 8. Two juvenile loggerheads were found on the north and south ends and transported to the Sea Turtle Hospital at the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston.

One of the turtles, nicknamed Pawley, was the second smallest sea turtle ever admitted to the hospital. It had boat strikes on its back and a tear in the esophagus which hospital officials believe was caused by a fisherman ripping out a hook.

The second turtle, nicknamed Midway, had leeches all over it and volunteers found pieces of plastic inside its bowel movements.

Both turtles are being cared for at the hospital, and officials hope to eventually release them back into the ocean.

One area that is lagging in nesting is DeBordieu, which also includes North, South and Sand islands in the Yawkey Wildlife Preserve.

DeBordieu annually accounts for around 50 percent of the nests along the Grand Strand. This year the numbers are running around 25 percent.

“We’re wondering where they are,” said Betsy Brabson, head of DeBordieu’s SCUTE chapter. “We’re not getting the nesting we usually get.”

DeBordieu and Hobcaw Barony recorded 31 nests last year, Hope said, but have only seen 18 so far this year. And there haven’t been a lot of false crawls, which means the turtles aren’t even making an effort to come ashore.

DeBordieu finished a beach renourishment project right around the time the nesting season began and that could be having a negative effect. That process is “very disruptive” to the turtles, Hope said, with the change in topography possibly keeping them away.

“When we see a beach get renourished, certainly that year, if it (finishes) that close … the turtles won’t use the beach as much,” Hope said.

There is also a sand bar near Hobcaw that has been uncovered this season.

“It’s got to be the renourishment and the sandbar,” Hope said.

The turtles not coming to DeBordieu could be nesting on North Island, which has already recorded 99 nests this year. The island only had 91 all last year.

DNA samples are taken from every nest that is inventoried and compared to samples taken in previous years, and Hope said that may help solve the mystery of whether the DeBordieu turtles ended up at North Island.

Sea turtles will continue to nest until around mid-August and the early nests will begin hatching in late July, so SCUTE and SCDNR reminds people who live or rent houses on the beach to keep their outside lights off.

The lights can keep the adult females from nesting or cause hatchlings to head inland instead of toward the ocean.

People visiting beaches should also fill in holes and not leave articles like tents, towel and chairs on the sand overnight.

For folks who want to see Pawley, Midway or other rescued turtles, the South Carolina Aquarium offers daily tours at noon and 2 p.m.

The aquarium has started a $5 million expansion project that will allow it to take care of more injured turtles, and allow the public better access.

For more information on the aquarium or the hospital, go to www.scaquarium.org.

Turtles nesting at a record pace in SC