turtle day
In a period that has been marked by so much death and tragedy, witnessing life seems to be even more remarkable. As we go through our day-to-day lives attached to our computers and mobile phones, it is easy to forget the innocence and astonishing feat of first steps.
But yesterday I had the opportunity to disengage myself from computers and mobiles and be part of one of natures’ miracles: the day baby sea turtles take their first plunge. The day the sea turtles, hours after hatching out of their eggs, enter our vast and mysterious ocean. And this happened in Cumbuco Beach in my native state, Ceará in Brazil.
It is rare for us to experience such a moment in our lives. For me, working so many years abroad (18 now), it is unlikely that I would be here to coincide with natures’ brilliant clock and be able to experience the marvellous march of the turtles to the sea. So, being “stranded” here due to the pandemic does have its upsides.
Besides the baby sea turtles’ birth, there was a small crowd (yes, I was wearing double mask and kept distant) that gathered to help stranded turtles. The excitement and hope were palpable in the air. These residents had been out all day in a frantic search to find disoriented baby sea turtles, that instead of going towards the ocean, as they are inherently born to do, went inland instead. As soon as I got there, I could hear screams: “we found one! No, two!”. Shortly followed by a procession of people running down the sand dune to deposit the rescued sea turtles near the ocean, in the hopes that they could beat the overbearing heat (35C) they had endured for hours while lost, and brave their way into the waters.
However miraculous and tender this moment was, it was scarred by the thought of how we, humans, have the ability to alter the world. And in this case, negatively.
Our constant desire to live closer to natures’ gift to us — the ocean — means that street lamps are now a threat to these precious creatures. Sea turtles are extremely vulnerable to light. Baby sea turtles use moon light and its reflection in the ocean as a guide to their future home. More than 50 sea turtles that hatched yesterday were found in the vegetation inland; likely disoriented upon their birth by the beaming light posts.
And it wasn’t just the lights that these tiny turtles had to battle against for survival. They had another mammoth task: surviving the cars, buggys and four-wheelers that are illegally driving on the sand dunes, and some at high speeds.
Even though we and our partners from Projeto Interpesca had put signage, some drivers still chose to pretend nothing was happening and, in some cases, ended up massacring baby turtles. Despite all of our efforts to alert the buggy association, the four-wheelers association, the lifeguards, the residents, 4x4 groups, the message did not get out to all. Those that did get the message, seemed touched, as one four-wheelers driver who approved us to show the video of baby sea turtle he found on an area nearby, likely another nest that was unknown. The cracking in his voice as he said
“I saw this little one and I felt so bad it was lost. I had to get it and help it to the ocean. Then right after, I sent the video on my four-wheelers I saw your message alerting us to be careful. I was happy I was able to save this one”.
I remain grateful to all the residents who came out to help, all the buggy and four-wheeler drivers who read our messages. All the countless others who shared posts on Instagram to alert. I am also grateful and hopeful to know that there is a local project, Project Interpesca, with the tireless Professor Renato and all its volunteers, who can come to guide, educate and inform us. Project Interpesca has diligently been working with local fishermen, buggy drivers, schools, and so many others to raise awareness about these animals. And despite the threats of the pandemic, still goes out to search for the nests, gets down on the sand to count eggs, and still makes it a game with the children. What a fun way to make conservation win people’s heart.
After 12 hours of having experienced this miracle, I still have no words to thank everyone who makes these opportunities possible for me, like all my colleagues who started the Winds for Future movement, and enable me to be a espectador of these moments! For those who are in Cumbuco, we invite you to visit the Cumbuco Hub and see a little bit of the transformation we are trying to do in Cumbuco and its surroundings.
I hope the commotion of this day, with more than 70 sea turtles coming to live with such a public struggle remains vivid in people’s memories. And that this be the impulse of small, but manageable, changes to help nature thrive.
