She is lying on her back. Her strong yet tiny flippers move crazily around while she tries to turn herself upright again. She flipped over into one of the many footprints that tourists leave on this beach in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. This little green sea turtle is determined; she has to get to the sea. She is struggling desperately and I so badly want to help her. I look up and meet the gaze of another onlooker.
“Gosh, I wish I could help her,” says the middle-aged Argentinean man. His hands are deep in his pockets, fighting his urge like me.
“I know! I’m going to count up to ten,” I say, hoping he won’t give me the evil eye if I ‘interfere’ with nature.
I am only up to three when she successfully flips herself over. We both cheer and laugh with relief as she continues her long journey to the ocean. She reaches the shore and a wave covers her with water. The next one takes her to her new home. I look on as she vanishes before my eyes and I marvel at how amazing animals are.
“Watch out! There is another just behind you!” Hal warns me.
In fact, there are three baby sea turtles running directly toward me. They have a bunch of deep footprints to walk through. I use my foot to even out the hilly sand in front of them, a highway for turtles. Two of them happily take it.
“They’re using your highway!” Hal says with a big smile
“I’m not interfering. That’s how their beach should be, not with all these footprints.” How’s that for an excuse?
“Maybe one day one of these sea turtles remembers you and saves your life,” Hal says as we watch them swim away.
I smile. My brainwaves take me twenty years into the future. I am lying on a turtle’s back while she takes me to the safety of the shore. A shore with no footprints.
Cristina Garcia
Zoologist and wildlife photographer. She has worked in the field with jackals, wolves, cheetahs, & leopards. She serves on the Board of Directors of SEE Turtles, a non-profit sea turtle conservation organization.
Read her posts at Travel For Wildlife and see more of her work at Truly Wild, & Our Wild Yard.
Jessica
Tuesday 11th of March 2014
Ok, now I am officially jealous of you! I walked up and down the beach in the Sian Ka'an every night last September looking for turtles hatching with no luck. (Don't worry, I stayed below the water line so the waves would smooth out the foot prints!) This video is so awesome. Was this a spontaneous hatching that you just stumbled upon? If so, do you remember where in Tulum this was (I see a kite board in the background, so I am thinking in the hotel area somewhere)? Any other info would be so helpful (time of day, signs the nest was hatching, etc.). Sorry for so many questions, but after all the effort last fall I am more determined than ever to see these lil guys hatch! Great video!!
Hal Brindley
Tuesday 11th of March 2014
Hey Jessica, Honestly it was just dumb luck. Yes we were in that little stretch of boutique hotels south of Tulum. (Can't remember which one exactly, kind of in the middle, maybe to the south end). We left our hotel about half an hour before sunset and just went for a walk on the beach. There were still a fair number of people out and within five minutes we noticed a group of folks crouched around something in the sand at the top of the beach, right in front of a hotel. We went to investigate and it was a nest of turtles hatching. There was a good deal of debate among the bystanders as to whether we should assist with the excavation or let them do their own thing. For some reason there were a number of dead turtles in the nest (perhaps the sand had been too compacted by beach traffic?) and we were all trying to figure out the best course of action so that these little guys had the best chance possible. I believe some people helped some of the turtles get out, while the rest of us just monitored their path to the sea to make sure they didn't get squashed by pedestrians! We saw at least a dozen leave before dark, but I'm sure a bunch more left after sunset. It was pretty amazing.
Alexandra
Wednesday 29th of August 2012
I love this post! Your writing transported me to the moment! Thanks for sharing it with us!
Cristina Garcia
Wednesday 29th of August 2012
Thank you so much Alexandra!
Sasha
Wednesday 22nd of August 2012
I've so been waiting to see this video! The little sea turtles are so cute waddling along, you captured such amazing footage! I hope to see this for myself one day. :)
Cristina Garcia
Wednesday 22nd of August 2012
Thanks Sasha! I think these were the cutest animals we saw in Mexico.
Lea
Wednesday 22nd of August 2012
Uber cute! I almost cried while watching this. A few years ago, I adopted a baby turtle via the Pawikan Conservation Center in the Philippines. Pawikan is the local word for "sea turtles". It was an amazing experience to release them into the sea thinking that in a few years they will come back to the exact same place to lay their eggs.
Hal Brindley
Wednesday 22nd of August 2012
Lea, Yeah, it was an incredibly moving experience, watching those determined little guys making their way into the waves. And then trying to imagine them making a living for themselves all alone in the big ocean? Amazing and heart-breaking and inspiring.
Talon
Wednesday 22nd of August 2012
Wicked good video!
Cristina
Wednesday 22nd of August 2012
Thanks. It was such an awesome moment to witness. It left me teary eyed.