Our neighbors invited us to join them in the unearthing of a hawksbill turtle nest this afternoon. The hawksbill turtles are on the critically endangered animal list. During nesting season, volunteers comb the beaches, looking for turtle tracks that would indicate nesting. Once a nest is found, it is staked, and watched (I'm not sure on the details). Then when the turtles are due to hatch (after about 2 months), volunteers camp out by the nest, through their presence scaring away predators... This particular turtle nest on Oneloa beach (Big Beach) had hatched a number of turtles a few days ago. This afternoon they unearthed the nest, checking for any other live turtles.
 |
| carefully opening the nest |
They found egg shells, dead turtles and 6 live turtles. Once everything was recorded, they took the baby turtles to the beach where they slowly crawled towards the water, eventually being swept away by one of Big Beach's giant waves. It truly was the coolest thing to see. Reminded me of a kids movie (Turtle Tale?) I recently watched - and yet, not.
 |
| look who we found - a little guy quite eager to head towards the ocean |
 |
| the live turtles waiting for their release into the Pacific Ocean. Safe swimming, little guys! |
Labels: adventure, animals, beach
