As the smallest and youngest box turtle to become part of our radio telemetry project, Spencer survived three hurricanes and was briefly lost at sea.

He then became a well-loved celebrity in a Sanibel neighborhood, where neighbors assisted SCCF with locating his transmissions. Learn what finally led to his demise and how you can help prevent such tragedies from occurring.

SCCF began the Florida Box Turtle Radio Telemetry Project in 2019 to track Florida box turtles (Terrapene bauri) in the wild and obtain data such as home range, size, habitat selection, and seasonal movement patterns.

Most of the turtles in this project are adults and are tracked for a year until they “retire,” at which point their transmitters are removed and they are released.

“The project does not only focus on adult-aged turtles, though. Some turtles begin their tracking career as juveniles and are tracked for multiple years to try and get a more complete picture of a box turtle’s life history,” says SCCF Wildlife Biologist Mike Mills.

The first juvenile turtle to be selected for this was FLBT #1337, or Spencer, as he was named by SCCF’s Wildlife & Habitat Management team. Spencer was originally found on Dec. 5, 2021, measuring at a shell length of 101 millimeters (~4 inches) and weighing 161 grams (~0.3 pounds). Box turtles are typically considered adults at 120mm in shell length.  

Like the rest of our radio-tracked turtles, Spencer was tracked one to three times every two weeks. For the first nine months of tracking, Spencer didn’t travel much. He would contain himself in a quarter-acre-sized area and only move from vegetation patch to vegetation patch on the east end of Sanibel. (See photo above.)

Spencer’s Track through Hurricane Ian

On Sept. 21, 2022, Spencer was tracked to within a foot of a newly excavated gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) burrow. This was a new area for Spencer and there was discussion on whether he would use the burrow as shelter.

Before much could come from that discussion, Hurricane Ian made landfall on Sept. 28, 2022, and created storm surges up to 12 feet that washed over Sanibel Island.

“We had great concern for Spencer and all the other radio-tracked turtles, but due to the outage of the causeway and other amenities, no tracking could begin until Oct. 24, 2022. It had been almost a month since Spencer’s last track as we arrived to his last known location by the gopher tortoise burrow,” says Mills. “As we turned on the tracking gear, the familiar beeping noises began immediately, indicating Spencer, or at least his transmitter, was still nearby.”

After a short search, Spencer was found alive and well, only 160 feet from his last known location in a familiar vegetation patch. Not only had Spencer survived the storm, but he also seemed to be living his life as usual.

Reaching Adulthood Post-Ian

Tracking continued throughout 2023, with no major events. Spencer again spent his time moving from one vegetation patch to another, eating as much as he could, his omnivorous diet consisting of seagrapes, carpenter ants, and the occasional dead fish in the wrack line.

When Spencer was brought in on March 2, 2023, for a transmitter change, all this foraging had paid off — he had reached adult size! Measuring at 120mm (~4.8 in) and weighing 242g (~0.5 lb), Spencer had grown and matured enough that it was possible to identify him as an adult male box turtle.

This trend of growth continued as he was brought in once again for a transmitter change on May 30, 2024. Another major growth spurt had occurred over the past year! He now measured 138mm (~5.4 in) in length and weighed 350g (~0.7 lb).

Hurricanes Helene, Milton Disrupt Tracking

The rest of 2024 continued on for Spencer in a similar fashion until Sept. 26, 2024, when Hurricane Helene passed by Sanibel, bringing with it storm surges up to 5 feet.

“Before SCCF staff and volunteers could fully reorganize and look for Spencer, Hurricane Milton was forecasted, prompting evacuation from Sanibel Island,” recalls Mills.

On Oct. 9, 2024, Hurricane Milton made landfall, bringing storm surges up to 5 feet, the second such surge within two weeks. Fortunately, these surges were not as severe as Ian’s, and tracking began much sooner after Milton on Oct. 18, 2024.

“We were nervous as we began, wondering if Spencer would be found just as easily? As the tracking gear was turned on, no immediate beeps began, only static, indicating that the transmitter was not in range for its signal to be detected,” said Mills.

With no signal found for an hour in Spencer’s familiar home range, it was decided to branch out into areas he had never been before. After a couple more hours of searching, Spencer was finally located alive and well but this time, nearly a quarter mile away from his previous location, potentially having been swept away in the surges.

Relocated and On the Move

The first three years of tracking Spencer showed him averaging only 30 feet between tracks in his quarter-acre home range. In the month following Helene and Milton, his average movement increased to 800 feet between tracks!

“Box turtles will typically stay within their established home range for most of their life, but when they are drastically moved to a new area, either by natural or human-based causes, they will begin making large movements,” explains Mills.

Established adults will make these movements to try to return to their old home range, but younger adults, such as Spencer, may try to establish a new area to inhabit. These movements eventually led Spencer to a nearby neighborhood, where he was constantly found in homeowners’ yards.

After determining which yard Spencer occupied, SCCF staff or volunteers would knock on that neighbor’s door to explain our tracking project and the need to enter their property to check on Spencer. Not only was everyone in this neighborhood willing to let us conduct our tracking, but they all became very engaged in Spencer’s escapades. He became a local celebrity overnight!

Signal Goes Silent

With his newfound fame, Spencer began establishing a new home range in the neighborhood. He was tracked for 4 more months until one day, his signal went silent. Thinking he might have made another large move, extended searches began in the area, but after two weeks, there was still no signal.

“We were getting worried and wondered if the transmitter had stopped working. Just when everyone began thinking that Spencer might be lost, a call came in from a SCCF volunteer, who had found Spencer swimming in a marina!” Mills reports.

He was brought in and given an examination, and was found to be completely healthy (he had grown another 4mm and 10g since his last measurement), but the antennae on his transmitter had broken off. With his transmitter replaced, he was released back into the wild.

The following eight months saw Spencer continue with his normal routine of moving from one vegetation patch to another, feeding on ink berries and seagrapes. On Nov. 21, 2025, he was tracked to a patch of native vegetation that included muhly grass and blue porterweed.

The next attempt to track him was met with radio silence, just like eight months before. Large-scale searches were conducted over two weeks but still no signal. Had Spencer fallen into the ocean again?

What Spencer Taught Us

This would not be the case. On Dec. 4, 2025, Spencer was found dead on the road. He had been struck by a vehicle, his transmitter destroyed. After surviving three hurricanes and being lost at sea, a distracted driver was the end for Spencer.

Over a span of three years and three months, Spencer had grown to 41mm (~1.6 in) and 199g (~0.4 lb). Dec. 5, 2025, would have been his four-year anniversary since he was first tracked.

He had been the longest-tracked turtle in the project, and SCCF Volunteer Kay Sadighi had been there since the beginning, having tracked Spencer more than anyone.

Here are a few words that Kay wanted to share as she thought of her time with Spencer:

“Spencer had a large personality, and he never ceased to amaze me. When he was very little, he could hide under a single seagrape leaf. Whenever I found him by homing in on the signal, he would scramble under leaves farther away, but sometimes he settled for having his head under a leaf — as if he thought that if he couldn’t see me and I couldn’t see him. Later on, when he was older, I would find him sipping water from those same seagrape leaves he would hide under. In the last week before his car strike, I found him in a garden and I remember making eye contact with him as I took his picture and recorded the data for the day. I miss Spencer.”

Kay Sadighi, Volunteer

Based on wildlife road mortality data collected by the Department of Natural Resources for the City of Sanibel, 49 turtles were struck by vehicles in 2025 — 34 of which were box turtles.

How You Can Help

“Each one of these box turtles had their own story similar to Spencer’s, surviving multiple storm surges only to be lost to negligence,” Mills says. “You can do something about this. Following these guidelines will not only lower wildlife loss but also make the roads safer for everyone.”

• Keep your eyes on the road at all times. Driving while distracted not only puts wildlife at risk, but everyone else on the road around you.
• Follow speed limits to give yourself more time to react to wildlife.
• Drive slower at dawn, dusk, and night, when animals are most active.
• Be cautious on two-lane roads near woods or other natural habitats, especially along Sanibel Captiva Road.
• Scan the road edges for wildlife and other hazards.
• Don’t litter. Discarded food attracts animals to the road.
• Don’t swerve to avoid wildlife — brake firmly and honk instead. Swerving can cause accidents.

If you see a box turtle on Sanibel or Captiva, please take a picture and notify us at 239-472-3984 or email clechowicz@sccf.org.

Learn more about our Box Turtle Project>>>