The Excavation

Sorry I haven't posted in a couple of days. Things have been very busy!

Sometime on Saturday, somebody found a dead hatchling in a hole in the sand. The hatchling was on its back. It had most likely flipped over and been unable to right itself, and died from exhaustion and dehydration in the sun. The hatchling had been missed by whoever was supposed to be following it.

This got me thinking about natural selection and survival of the fittest. Scientists estimate that only one in every 1,000 sea turtles lives to adulthood. What if this had been the one? There is nothing to suggest that this turtle was unfit. True, it couldn't turn itself back over, but that is a small thing compared to all the instincts necessary to survive and grow to adulthood. The hatchling was obviously headed towards the ocean. That's a big deal when you think about the hatchlings that I chaperoned last night, who couldn't seem to go the right way. It was fully formed and had enough energy to get this far. It certainly could have made it to the ocean if, through no fault of its own, it hadn't been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Life really is unfair. What makes this especially sad is that this turtle could have been the one to survive.

Luke allowed me to take a picture of the dead hatchling (note that I did not handle it). You can see the picture at the end of the post.

9/24:
On to happier things. Sunday morning we excavated the nest. Well, I say we, but none of the volunteers actually had anything to do with it besides watching. All the procedures and handling of the hatchlings were done by professionals and state biologists. Always remember never to disturb hatchlings, nests, or any turtles.

A man from the Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources did the excavation. He began by carefully scraping away sand from the top of the nest with his hands. About 4 inches down, we saw something dark moving. It was three live hatchlings! Everybody cheered. The babies craned their necks and waved their flippers, struggling to get out of the nest. The man gently scooped them up and handed them to Luke, who put them in a bucket. They scrambled in the direction of the ocean and climbed on top of one another, trying to get out of the bucket. It was amazing how they knew which direction to go.

The excavation continued and more live hatchlings were found, 12 in all. There were several unhatched eggs. There were also over a dozen dead hatchlings. These turtles most likely died of dehydration and exhaustion while trying to get out of the nest. There was a huge mass of leathery egg shells, which all went in a separate bucket.

When it was entirely certain that no more hatchlings were in the nest or the area around it, Luke carried the bucket of live hatchlings to the high tide line. He laid it on its side. All the little turtles scrambled out and raced towards the ocean. Not one of them went the wrong way. Once they had all disappeared into the water, I felt a little sad that it was all over, but very excited that so many hatchlings had made it this far.

After calculations, it was determined that the nest had a 90% success rate!

We will begin watching the fourth and final nest at the beginning of October.

I spent the rest of the day at Ho'okipa Beach on the north shore watching the adult sea turtles as they basked in the sun. I met one of the women who watches them every day and chatted with her about what she does, because that's what I'll be doing for the next several days. (This is called the Basking Project.) More about that later.

I went snorkeling in the water and encountered a very large sea turtle! I followed him around, trying not to get too close, when suddenly he turned around and stared directly at me for a moment, slowly blinking. I wondered what he was thinking, or if he was thinking at all.

He slowly came closer, still staring, until he was inches away. I thought, well, I'm not supposed to approach the turtles, but what if they approach me? So I reached out and gently touched his shell. It was slippery with algae.

He didn't move. I didn't move.

Then a wave smashed me into a rock. The turtle slowly turned and swam away.

I was a little bit high on adrenaline after that!

9/25: (yesterday) I spent the day at the beach learning more about the basking project, how to collect and record data, and appropriately interact with tourists. Basically we have to record how many turtles come and go at what times, and how many tourists come to watch them. There are definitely more turtles when there are fewer tourists. As sunset approaches, more and more turtles come up on the beach to spend the night there. Most of them leave in the morning before people arrive.

Turtles like their space!

 The first picture is a turtle basking in the sun.  The second picture is the excavation. The third picture shows everybody seeing the hatchlings off into the ocean.  The last picture shows the hatchling that was found dead in the sand.