The Magic of Sea Turtles and Children

Thursday, August 12th, 2010

 

Each spring like clockwork, sea turtles emerge from the water to lay eggs on the world’s beaches, and have been doing so for at least 200 million years.  In the southeastern U.S., about 80% of loggerhead nesting occurs in six Florida counties (Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, and Broward Counties).

 

We are lucky that this happens each year, right in our backyard, and my children and I take great enjoyment in walking the beaches to witness this if at all possible.

 

One morning last weekend, we did see just that.  What an amazing sight watching this enormous animal silently and slowly climb the beach to nest.  What a lesson to teach my children that this activity, so simple and engrained in this animal’s nature is in danger of extinction.  We must protect the turtles and their habitats, I explained as my children watched with wonder.  Sea turtles’ only chance of survival for another 200 million years is to ensure they can continue to successfully nest, see the eggs make it through gestation and the hatchlings make it back into the sea.

 

As adults, this is common knowledge, but these lessons that I am now passing on will hopefully ensure future generations of both turtles and adults who value the conservation of some of this world’s most beautiful creatures.

Tags: children, conservation, turtles
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