Shell Game
“EL VALLE, COLOMBIA… Daniel & Federica are on their honeymoon. They’ve chosen this small fishing village of El Valle, on Colombia’s Pacific coast, to explore some of the world’s greatest biodiversity, & live their dream of watching humpback whales migrate from the South Pole.
I’ve come to see turtles, to witness them emerge from the ocean & lay eggs on the beach at night…
Because it’s mid-September- prime whale-watching & egg- laying season- I expected the beachfront eco-lodge, El Almejal, to be bouncing with camera-toting nature fanatics. In fact, it’s almost empty. Daniel, Federica, & I are the only guests.
…We return to the beach to find a dozen people standing around a female turtle laying eggs. Kneeling beside it are two women in caps with headlights shining red, the only color that won’t disturb the reptile during nesting. One woman scribbles notes on a pad. The other uses tape to measure the shell, about 61cm long. Everyone else watches in silence.
After the last egg plops out, the turtle flicks sand over the hole with its back flippers. It circles the hole twice, then uses its front flippers to crawl toward the ocean. Everybody tiptoes behind. The turtle stops at the edge of the water, as if to take one last breath. It crawls forward, a wave submerges its shell & then it’s gone.
One of the women, meanwhile, has collected the eggs- 48 in total…These women are part of Asociation Caguama, a group of 20 conservationists who walk beaches at night protecting eggs from poachers.
Asociation Caguama workers collect the eggs & save them in a pen until the hatchlings are ready to be released into the ocean…”
Simon Willis
WASHINGTON POST
In The Gazette, Montreal
July 18/2015
Cute Critter Pic
Weekly Chuckle
Memorial
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