Two days later, as I was photographing the Georgetown (Dead Men's) Cemetery, I saw a number of baby turtles between the graves. They were all dead except one. I rescued it and carried it across the beach to the sea. Remarkably, it was strong enough to swim away. I was very upset when I realised why the baby turtles were in the cemetery. When they hatch, they dig themselves out of the sand and crawl towards the light of the moon which is beyond the water's edge. A company had built a small industrial unit behind the cemetery and floodlit it as a security measure. The floodlights were brighter than the moon so many newly hatched turtles, at that end of the beach, crawled away from the sea by mistake . . . and died a lingering death as they dried out in the sun. What a shame.
has anyone thought to contact animal groups?contact the company that put up these lights? contacted the city ? there must be something that can be done to prevent the loss of these wonderful creatures. it's bad enough when they have to fight nature in their run to the sea..but to fight man is a whole different story!
ReplyDeleteThat's so sad, man against nature yet again.
ReplyDeleteGlad you could save one at least, but so sad for all the others. Man's idiocy strikes again. Saw some freshly hatched baby turtles in the Caribbean a few years ago, swimming in the water, they were beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThat is such a tragic story. Very astute of you to be able to determine the cause. Recently, there were 18 whales committing suicide in the shallows off Florida. They were able to rescue some, but I'm wondering if the root of the problem was also man-made...
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