Sea Turtles and Straws with Christine Figginer

Several years ago, I went on a trip to Hilton head, South Carolina, and I woke up in the morning really early and went to the beach. This is something I always do when I am by the ocean, because you get to find some really cool stuff in the morning. And this time I found the best thing ever, or the two best things ever!

I saw two baby sea turtles make their way to the ocean. Members of their nest likely hatched the night before, and these two were stragglers. I got to see them make their journey to the ocean. 

One of the coolest parts was that is that the sea turtles were right in the middle of this tourist spot. And that they were basically co-existing with humans on this busy beach for a short period of time. Ever since then, I’ve been wanting to talk to somebody about sea turtles conservation and science.

I invited sea turtle biologist Dr. Christine Figginer on the podcast who is not only a sea turtle expert, but famous for sparking the movement to reduce plastic straw use. She is the one who took the video of the sea turtle who had a plastic straw up its nose. In this podcast, we talk about everything sea turtles, plastic, and conservation. 

Specifically we talk about:

•  How Christine got interested in sea turtles and science
• The steps Christine took to become a scientist
• What Christine does on a daily basis
• What sea turtle research is like
• The biggest threats to sea turtles
• Easy tips that you can do to help out sea turtles (all from home)
• How the straw video went viral
• How sea turtle releases can be harmful, why hotels do them, and why you shouldn’t support them

For full show notes click here.

Get a free chapter of my book “Getting a Job in Wildlife Biology: What It’s Like and What You Need to Know” to see how I can help you in your career: https://stephanieschuttler.com/getting-a-job-in-wildlife-biology-book/ 

Want to learn about cool animals, conservation, and get tips about careers in wildlife biology, science, and more? Subscribe to my channel: https://www.youtube.com/StephanieSchuttler and join my email list: https://stephanieschuttler.com/ 

I’d love to meet you. Connect with me on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FancyScientist

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fancy_scientist/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fancyscientist/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/fancyscientist/pins/

Join the “Getting a Job in Wildlife Biology” Facebook group to connect with other aspiring wildlife biologists, post your questions and get free advice: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gettingajobinwildlifebiology