Hawksbill Sea Turtle
Sea Turtles
Reading a note about sea turtles and the efforts to help save them, I realized that in a photo I took on a trip to the Turks and Caicos, I got an image of one of the most endangered sea turtles – the Hawksbill Sea Turtle.
We took a ride in a semi-submersible – essentially a boat with glass sided hulls – and I got this image. I’ve sent it along for verification, but in researching this turtle I am pretty sure it’s the same species we saw many times almost right off the beach at a small underwater conservation site, a coastal coral reef, called the Coral Garden. I’ve let the conservation group folks know of this connection, as the Hawksbill is now listed as Critically Endangered.
There are things we can all do to help sea turtles, limiting plastic waste that ends up in the ocean would be #1 here in Nova Scotia. In Florida, I’ve helped with a group that wants to limit artificial lights along the beaches, where the females nest, so that they don’t get fooled and end up in the middle of a parking lot! Covid has stopped travel to anywhere right now, but hopefully soon we’ll be able to go South and continue our small part in helping to stave off the extinction of another species.
It’s worth the effort!
