A baby sea turtle just hatched out of their shell and is slowly walking towards the water, ready to start their new life. Right before they taste the salty water, they are captured by a human and separated from their family. Their life is taken from them before it even gets a chance to begin. All subspecies of baby sea turtles are at risk of being captured and are in danger right when they hatch from their shell.
There are 7 subspecies within the entire population of sea turtles: green, loggerhead, hawksbill, leatherback, kemp’s ridley, olive ridley, and flatback sea turtle, and the most captured and endangered of them all is the hawksbill.
The hawksbill and the other subspecies are constantly at risk of being caught by a human or predator on land. Although they are called sea turtles, they actually can not breathe underwater like fish can. They are just skilled at holding their breath for several hours, only coming up for air every once in a while. This is also why when they lay their eggs every two to three years on land, the eggs will not hatch underwater since the baby sea turtles will not have learned how to hold their breath underwater yet.
During March and October, the hawksbill goes out onto the sandy beaches of Australia, the Solomon Islands, Cuba, and Mexico to lay their eggs. This is a risky time because the eggs can be dug up by humans and used as a food source. These hunters wait until nighttime to scoop out the nesting females, kill them, take their babies, and use turtle meat as food.
The most common cultures that have sea turtle meat in their diet are Central American and Asian. It’s understandable that specific people eat certain types of food that require animals to be killed, but there needs to be a limit or exceptions for specific species such as the sea turtle. It is also immoral to sneak up on these innocent creatures in the middle of the night and take their babies right in front of them. It is naive to believe that animals don’t have emotions like humans.
As if these sea turtles couldn’t get enough with their babies being taken from them, they also have to face the issue of habitat loss of their nesting grounds. Their beaches are an integral part of their lives because although they spend most of their time in the water, again they can’t breathe underwater, so the beaches are not only where baby sea turtles start their lives, they are also where they take breathing breaks. But these beaches are being overly inhabited by humans.
Humans love the beach, so there is a lot of vehicle traffic and human activities that take place on their nesting grounds causing them to have to find another place to nest which takes time. The beach is my favorite place in the world, so I understand why there are humans there all the time, BUT in specific countries such as Costa Rica, Greece, and Turkey, they designate a certain time for people to watch these hatching at a distance to keep the sea turtles safe. So if I were traveling to another country I would research the beaches to make sure I am not infringing on a species’ habitat.
Climate change and pollution are the last known negative effects on the hawksbill sea turtle population. When it comes to nesting the mother has to find a cold, dark, and quiet place to lay their eggs because that is required to safely hatch the eggs which is also why they nest in specific climates. If the climate is changing and they hatch their babies in warmer temperatures, it affects the sex of the offspring. If the temperature is warmer, then fewer male baby sea turtles are hatched. If there is less of one sex, it makes it harder for the species to reproduce efficiently. They also face fatal encounters with plastic in the ocean because they mistake it for food such as jellyfish.
According to the World Wildlife Organization, tens of thousands of sea turtles are killed each year as a result of just the issues mentioned; their population is rapidly declining as a result of human encroachment. That is why organizations around the world such as the World Wide Fund for Nature are trying to raise money and awareness for these creatures. If you want to contribute to this cause, you can adopt a cute sea turtle for $60 where you will get a photo, an adoption certificate, a plushie, and a gift bag.
