The Philanderer
Friday, October 19, 2007
Michaelangelo and friends
While in St Lucia a few years ago, we were fortunate to spend one night camped out (yes I know I don't do camping but....) on the East coast hoping to see a Leatherback turtle or two come ashore and lay their eggs. It was blowing a gale and bitterly cold, and a two person pod tent is not the most secure.
This year we stayed on the West coast of St Lucia, so imaging our surprise, when one evening the sand started boiling and hundreds of baby turtles started to invade the resort bars and restaurants.....the babies had hatched and been attracted to the bright lights of the hotel, whereas on the East coast they usually head for the reflection of the moon on the water.
Holiday makers were running everywhere to catch the little blighters and throw them into the sea, only to have them washed ashore with the next wave. Only one thing for it, form a chain beyond the breaker line and throw the little darlings further out.....result, hundreds of turtles launched into a new life, hundreds of pounds damage to tourists designer shoes and trousers, but all well worth it.....and the cycle was complete.......the hotel have two more nests apparently so future visitors are in for the same treat.
We were delighted, therefore, to be woken by rangers during the night and had the chance to see a turtle in action. They come ashore, find a spot they are comfortable with, and use their rear flippers to dig a deep hole for the nest. Once satisfied with their construction work, they go into a trace and pop out over a hundred eggs, which look like billiard balls.
Once in her trace, we were able to stroke and take photos of the turtle, and on our particular trip there was a seven year old girl with her dad, so she had the honour of using the number clicker to count the final egg total.
We only witnessed one female on the night we were there, but the following night eight came ashore. The rangers were telling us that since they have started to use the experience as a tourist attraction, the number of turtles lost to poachers has dropped dramatically. That's good news as they have enough natural predators without human intervention.
This year we stayed on the West coast of St Lucia, so imaging our surprise, when one evening the sand started boiling and hundreds of baby turtles started to invade the resort bars and restaurants.....the babies had hatched and been attracted to the bright lights of the hotel, whereas on the East coast they usually head for the reflection of the moon on the water.
Holiday makers were running everywhere to catch the little blighters and throw them into the sea, only to have them washed ashore with the next wave. Only one thing for it, form a chain beyond the breaker line and throw the little darlings further out.....result, hundreds of turtles launched into a new life, hundreds of pounds damage to tourists designer shoes and trousers, but all well worth it.....and the cycle was complete.......the hotel have two more nests apparently so future visitors are in for the same treat.Labels: leatherback turtle, st lucia, trance
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