I had a minor crisis of confidence on the beach last night. We had three turtles come up one after the other and spent four straight hours with them. I made a few mistakes, and this while explaining things to the new volunteer. Embarrassing! I didn’t get the flipper tag on right, so had to take it off and do it again. So much for being an old hand – it must take years to be as smooth at the supervisors. I am determined to do better the next night, but also accept that I am a novice.I guess there are bad work days even in Grenada.

Flipper tags are put into a soft fleshy part of the two rear flippers, sort of like the area between your thumb and forefinger. The tag itself is like an earring with a number engraved on it, and although the pliers used to put them in look like instruments of torture, it seems to me much like getting your ears pierced. The turtles definitely feel it, but I hope it doesn’t hurt for long. I feel terrible for having to do it twice. Sometimes they come off and leave large holes. Ouch. Poor ladies.

Flipper Tag. Source:www.georgiaseaturtlecenter.org

PIT tags are better. These are small microchips that go under the skin of the turtles’ right shoulder. They don’t fall off or get covered in barnacles, and are reliable and virtually permanent. Unfortunately, Ocean Spirits has not been able to get funding to get more PIT tags (they cost about US$15 each + shipping costs), but we still scan all turtles to get the ID for those who have them (so far most do).