Banyuwangi, Indonesia:
Newly hatched, dozens of infant turtles flipped and flopped their way down a beach towards the crashing waves of the Indian Ocean, below the watchful gaze of conservationists at an Indonesian national park.
Small adequate to match into the palm of a hand, some ended up on their backs, wriggling their tiny flippers helplessly as they attempted to get back on track.
But the conservationists did not interfere, as they wanted the creatures to “map” their surroundings and then return to lay eggs decades later.
“Sea turtles mature at 25 years old, so if they’re released today, we’ll probably meet them again 25 years from now,” stated Ardhini Estu Wardana, a forest ranger at Meru Betiri National Park on the eastern edge of Java.
Its beaches are nesting grounds for quite a few species of turtle.
The evening just before, a giant female — more than a metre (3.3 feet) lengthy — laid more than 160 eggs on the shore, sweeping mounds of sand more than them to guard them from predators.
Turtles, below threat from poaching and habitat destruction, are protected below Indonesian law.
Their eggs are viewed as a delicacy and they are also slaughtered for their meat, skin and shells.
Six of the world’s seven turtle species can be discovered in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands and dwelling to a dizzying array of exotic wildlife.
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