I found this touching and beautiful video about protecting the endangered leatherback and loggerhead sea turtles of South Africa and Southern Mozambique. With daily news of oceanic dead zones, megalithic plastic ocean pollution, and our dwindling oceanic species, it is good to see a story that lends a shred of hope for the planet. This video explores the amazing life of one of the earth’s most ancient creatures and describes how a coalition of environmental groups have worked together to save the sea turtle from extinction.
The beginning of life for these enduring animals is so fragile that only 1-2% of all hatched sea turtles survive into adulthood. After a nest hatches, the baby sea turtles begin to make their way to the ocean. It can take several days to get to protected deeper waters. On their way to safety, the baby loggerhead and leatherback attempts to elude predators such as crabs, birds, and fish near the shoreline. This fact makes it difficult to increase sea turtle populations. It is estimated in the video that conservation efforts can take as long as 35 years to begin seeing an increase in the sea turtle population.
I am grateful and applaud organizations like The Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve, Ponta do Ouro-Kosi Bay TFCA, Lubombo TFCA, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, and PeaceParks Foundation for their determination to preserve a species for future generations. And thanks to Green Renaissance for producing this turtle video and other videos which bring attention to the unsung heroes of environmental protection.
Sea Turtle Photo by
Some rights reserved by Philippe Guillaume
