Jerris Foote

Tube feeding a young rescued loggerhead. Jerris is on the left.

Taking an x-ray of a Kemp's ridley. Jerris is on the right.

Jerris shares a story about her work with sea turtle rescue. "A young Kemp's ridley turtle, the smallest and most endangered of all sea turtle species, was found by boaters. The turtle was found floating at the surface of the water and was surrounded by and entangled in blue ribbon. The ribbon was the kind used for wrapping packages and attaching to balloons. Because the boaters knew that sea turtles were protected species (under the 1973 Endangered Species Act and Florida law) and they realized that the turtle was acting strangely, they called the sea turtle program at Mote Marine Laboratory. We advised them to bring the turtle in to us."
"Upon arrival, we found that the turtle had swallowed a balloon that was attached to the ribbon. The turtle had been unable to bite through the ribbon, and had swallowed one balloon. It was having difficulty breathing because the balloon was stuck in its throat. The turtle was X-rayed to find the location of the balloon, anesthetized, and 11 inches of ribbon and 2 inches of balloon were removed. For the next 48 hours the turtle continued to make wheezing noises when breathing but recovered. It was tagged and released at the location of capture a month later. This was a great success, as turtles that have swallowed plastic, tar, etc. are usually not found until after death. By contacting the Sea Turtle Program at Mote the boaters helped the little Kemp's ridley to survive."

Jerris Foot is a Senior Biologist at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida where she is Coordinator of the Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program.

Jerris first became interested in sea turtles while working as an archaeologist in Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. Her crew would frequently find fossils, and the ones that fascinated her most were fossils of marine turtles.

In 1983 she moved to Florida. On her daily beach walks she began to observe tracks in the sand which were created by sea turtles. Occasionally she found a dead sea turtle. Because of her curiosity, she contacted Mote Marine Laboratory. Through this contact, she became a volunteer at the lab and ultimately one of the biologists on staff.

Jerris was interested in the sciences from her mid-teens. She has always been an avid reader and would choose books dealing with archaeology, anthropology, animal care, and all issues dealing with animal conservation and ecology. While growing up she did not think it would be possible to become a scientist. "I just didn't know any scientists and mistakenly thought that most scientists were men." Jerris stated.

Finally in 1975, a friend asked Jerris "If you could do anything in the world, what would you like to do?" She told him that she would like to become a scientist. Her friend encouraged her to "go for it," and she did.

Working as a marine biologist has been a rewarding and challenging career for Jerris, and she encourages all young people to consider careers in conservation.

More about sea turtles.