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Grab shell: Tour de Turtles underway at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort

VERO BEACH, Fla. — Slow and steady wins the race.

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The 15th annual Tour de Turtles is officially underway at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort.

The “migration marathon” sees the turtles begin from the nesting beaches of Vero Beach Resort to feeding grounds in the Bahamas, Caribbean and beyond, Disney said.

See more in the video below:

READ: World’s toughest turtle? Survivor among 8 returned to ocean

Of the 12 turtles participating, Disney is sponsoring two of the females, Neytiri and Ronal, named after characters in the upcoming film “Avatar: The Way of Water.”

Satellite telemetry tracks the turtles on their journey. Data collected during Tour de Turtles help officials make more informed decisions about sea turtle conservation methods and policies, Disney said.

Since 2008, the Sea Turtle Conservancy and Disney have studied 26 sea turtles outfitted with the transmitters and released from the resort.

READ: Palm Coast Turtle Trail set to unveil new turtle sculpture Friday

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Adam Poulisse, WFTV.com

Adam Poulisse joined WFTV in November 2019.