Principe: Releasing Turtle Hatchlings at Praia Grande
And this is the moment that made coming to Principe all worth it – releasing baby turtle hatchling into the wild of the ocean waves. It all happened very quickly – a couple dozen baby turtles collected earlier in the day from the nests in the sand were released onto the beach about 10m/30ft from the waves crashing on the shore. The little guys flipped and ran like crazy toward the water and were all swept in in a matter of next couple minutes. One struggler got throw by the wave back onshore, and he (or she) quickly ran back. An amazing spectacle of nature. Sadly, the survival rate of baby turtles is only 1 in a 1000, but hopefully these two dozen will get lucky.