NATURAL RESOURCES PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION
the date the Loggerhead laid and
buried the eggs. The adult Logger-
heads themselves were born at Eng-
lewood Beach and return each year.
They lay between 30-40 eggs and
unfortunately only about 10-12
hatchlings make it to adulthood.
Those that do will return to Eng-
lewood Beach to lay their eggs when
they reach adulthood.
100-150 volunteers patrol the beach
every night to make sure the logger-
heads complete their mission. They
wear red light head gear, as this
does not disturb the turtles.
Nature is one beautiful happening no
matter how it occurs. The baby tur-
tles hatch in about 50 days after the
eggs are laid and buried and they
head to the ocean to begin their
lives.
One night I went with a volunteer
from the Coastal Wildlife Club onto
the beach in hopes of observing a
Loggerhead come from the ocean to
lay her eggs. No luck, but I learned
plenty speaking with the volunteer.
(continued next page)
Page 4
Fall 2016
In closing, here is what nature does
from time to time. Three weeks ago
a Green Turtle came from the ocean
and laid and buried her eggs. What's
so special you ask? Well a Green
Turtle hasn't been on Englewood
Beach in 40 years. My hope is one
day I will get to see this event first
hand. Seeing it on television is okay
but nothing can beat "the real thing.
get bitten. The ticks patiently wait at
the tip of a leaf or blade of grass,
then attach to anyone who brushes
by. Immature ticks are most likely to
bite and they are very small, about
the size of a poppy seed. So chanc-
es are you won’t even know that
you’ve been bitten. The ticks don’t
pass on the Borrelia bacteria right
away, it usually happens after they
have been attached for several hours
or even a day or two. That’s why it is
so important to carefully check your
skin after you’ve been in an infested
area.
According to the Centers for Disease
Control, about 70-80% of people in-
fected with the Borrelia bacteria will
get a distinctive, red rash where they
have been bitten. As the inflamed
area gets larger, the center can
clear, giving it a distinctive bullseye
appearance. Symptoms also may
include fever, headache and muscle
aches. But the worst part of Lyme
Disease can happen days or even
months later: Swollen, painful joints,
nerve pain and facial paralysis. The
good news is that early antibiotic
treatment is effective, so get medical
attention as soon as you suspect a
tick bite. More information about
Lyme Disease can be found here:
Scientists have been wondering why
nationwide, Lyme Disease is on the
increase and there are some inter-
esting theories. An article in the Au-
gust 20, 2016
New York Times
, “A
Natural Cure for Lyme Disease”, ex-
plores the possibility that it has been
caused by “an out-of-whack ecosys-
tem”, that resulted from the loss of
predators like cougars and wolves.
They feed on the mice, chipmunks
and other small rodents that can car-
ry the Borrelia bacteria.
The article also explores how the
regrowth of forests in the Northeast
may have helped the disease
spread. More forests mean more
deer and deer eat the vegetation that
covers the ground. This leaves less
shelter for weasels and other small
predators that hunt disease carrying
rodents. But the most interesting
theory is this one: That wolves and
cougars kill off a predator that has
recently moved back into this area –
the Eastern coyote. The article also
mentions a hybrid coyote called a
coywolf, “that’s one-quarter wolf, two
INTERESTING THEORIES ABOUT
LYME DISEASE
By Ida Sanoff
Those of us who live in New York
City think of Lyme Disease as some-
thing that happens only to residents
of Connecticut or the far reaches of
Long Island. That’s because the
disease is transmitted by deer ticks,
also known as black legged ticks.
Staten Island now has a growing
deer population. But residents of the
other boroughs may think that they
have nothing to worry about. Or do
they? The New York City Health
Department reports that black legged
ticks are rarely found in the city but,
“more surveillance is needed to de-
termine if the tick is moving into parts
of NYC where deer are present,
such as the northern Bronx near the
Westchester border, Long Island and
Staten Island.”
/
site/doh/health/health-topics/lyme-
disease.page
Lyme Disease is caused by a bacte-
ria called
Borrelia burgdorferi
and is
only transmitted by the bite of black
legged ticks. There is evidence that
squirrels, mice, chipmunks and even
birds can carry the ticks too. A dog
or a cat can get Lyme Disease from
an infected tick, but they cannot pass
the disease to a human. You can’t
catch Lyme Disease from an infected
person either.
Since the ticks cannot jump or fly,
you actually have to contact one to
