Turtles

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So Christmas evening I went to a turtle reserve to see baby turtles hatching. It started with an hour lecture at the hostel I´m staying at, where everyone was informed about the beach we´d be visiting, the types of turtles we´d see, as well as a brief history and summary of turtles and the turtle hatching process. After the lecture I boarded the truck that would be carry everyone to the reserve. It was a bumpy, hour long ride in the dark until we reached the reserve. When we got to the reserve we were shown baskets filled to the brim with small, baby turtles. I think these were turtles who had been hatched, or found during the daytime, and they were brought to the reserve building for safety until the evening. We brought the two baskets to the beach where we took turns releasing the baby turtles onto the beach, about 10m from the ocean. Most of the turtles immediately began their slow crawl towards the water, while some had to be turned around and pointed in the right direction. And still some, seemed to have given up, barely able to move, protesting only minimally when picked up. It was sad to see them give up, so close to the water, yet we weren´t allowed to bring them to the ocean.

After freeing these turtles we made our way down the beach in search of nests that would be hatching that evening. The guide brought us to spot 30 or 40m from the water, up in the dry sand, where two nests could be seen. Normally, if a nest is not hatching, you won´t even see it, as it´ll be completely covered in sand. But when the turtles are about to make their way to the water a small hole will appear, and the tiny heads of one or two turtles will be poking out to the surface. We all gathered around the two nests and waited. All there was to see was the apparently lifeless heads of a couple turtles, and every once and ahwile they would shift, pushed from below. Over the course of 20 minutes the shifting increased in frequency, and sand started to fall away as the turtles below struggled to push their way to the surface. And before I knew it, the hole had widened to prehaps 7 or 8 inches in diameter and a hundred or so turtles were crawling over each other and making their way to the sea. After all the turtles had cleared the nest I stared to follow one turtle, watching him as he pushed his way across the sand. Moving in 12 inch intervals, followed by a rest, until he made it to the water, and the waves lapped over him. And in time, he was sucked out to see where he would be at the mercy of the current for many years until he was strong enough to swim on his own.

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Photos

The only turtle picture i got
flash photography was prohibited

Comments

[eva]

I Love Turtles
How exciting. Wish I could see turtles hatching....