“Litte Dude,” a threatened diamondback terrapin, emerged on August 23rd, 2007 with 16 more live siblings from a nest on the Assonet Bay Shores Beach in Freetown. He weighed 6.6 grams at emergence, measured a smidgeon over an inch long and sported a large, pinkish yolk sac. His siblings were released within a week, but this character was “the runt of the litter,” and would not likely have survived. Overwintering with the National Marine Life Center in Buzzards Bay, “Little Dude” grew to hockey puck size and was released today, August 9th, 2008 back into his natal habitat. Carl Brodeur & the Assonet Bay community, the NMLC team and Sue Wieber Nourse of Cape Cod Consultants released “Little Dude” at 2:30 pm this afternoon (August 9th, 2008).
Sue Wieber Nourse & Carl Brodeur Release “Little Dude”