Run Baby Run!

This blog could also be called “Shawn acts as a midwife”. Every morning I try and walk the beach before the crowds come out, but this morning shortly after 7am I ran into a mom and two young boys who had found 2 baby turtles on the sand near the water – not dead but not moving.

Just because I was wearing a Turtlebones’ cap and a T-shirt saying “The Turtle Hospital” they assumed I might know something. I did – call my daughter Devan who took marine biology and is the reason I have the T-shirt! Devan informed us that they were likely shocked/traumatized and might have been dropped by birds etc. The 2 young boys were upset.

I decided to follow the tracks in the sand and low and behold I find the nest and a few remaining turtles climbing out.

Another Facetime with Devan and we understood we are look at baby Olive Ridley sea turtles and we needed to let them find their own way to the sea to imprint with the sand and the place they would eventually come back to lay eggs years from now. This was easier said than done as birds were flocking around and trying to fly away with breakfast. The boys started a protective escort, which was hard as we were at least 100 feet from the water.

For the next two hours they continued to crawl out, one or two at a time. A curious group of onlookers continued to grow and many little guys and gals then had personal escorts to keep the birds away – but I saw a number grabbed in their trip to the sea.

Let me say, the turtle nest was almost under a lounge chair on the beach with hundreds of other chairs and people every day, one of 20 resorts on a beach that did not have massive resorts 25 years ago. We have definitely made the journey from the compacted sand they hatch from to the water a challenge. Some people I talked to said that even 5 years ago they would see hundreds of little turtles racing for the sea. A shocking reminder that their homes have been replaced by 5 star resorts.

Even once they made it to the sea, watching them swing against the waves to get out, frigate birds would swoop in and pluck them out of the water. A hard life with 100 to 1 odds to start your first day. Nonetheless, we probably saw 35 to 40 and I would guess maybe half of these at least made it across the sand.

Good luck on the next part of your journey!