Reports from the Field: Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge

The last time we passed through Titusville, Florida, we visited Kennedy Space Center. This time on our way through the area, we decided to check out NASA’s neighbor... the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge. The two entities share land in a strange but effective partnership between nature and technology. Our field reporters took the opportunity to research some local wildlife and bring you these reports from the field.

Turtles, by Jake
Hi, I’m Jake. Did you know five of the eight types of sea turtles live in Florida? Turtles can live to the age of parrots - that means old! Turtles lay 40,000 to 70,000 nests in Florida annually. Some travel thousands miles to feed or nest. Once they lay eggs they have to incubating for two months. Then the two inch turtles hatch.

When they hatch its clean up and lights out if you live near a beach so the turtles don’t get mixed up or blocked on there way to the water. Did you know that the heat of the egg tells if there girls or boy? It does - warm = girl and cool = boy. The End.

Manatees, by Emily
Hi. I am Mary the Manatee!!!! Millions of years ago I was a four foot long land animal, and I sher ate a lot, but on land I got to see my closest reletiv... the elephant! Now here is my friend Emily. She will tell you some facts.

Hi. I am Emily. Manatees have a lot of morlers - that’s teeth for manatees. Do you know what the morler march is? Manatee teeth grow back to front and once their at the front they fall out. Manatees eat lots of sea grass. They eat for 8 to 10 hours a day. They have to breath air every 3 to 5 minutes so they swim to the surface for that. The End.

More about Manatees, by Drew
The manatee is a relative of the elephant. It was around 1,000 years ago. The manatee is a herbavore that lives mostly in Florida and Georgia. When they surface they look like logs or rocks. Sometimes people in boats hit manatees when they surface. If the manatee is hurt, it may have to go to a manatee hospital to get nursed back to health. In a year, it takes $27,000 to feed one of them.

People could save a lot of money if we take care of the manatees by going slow in manatee areas and not polluting the water they live in. If we take care of the manatees we take care of ourselves too. Manatees and people need the same things to live - clean air and clean water and healthy food to eat.