[scubahood]

Mexico releases thousands of baby turtles into the sea


Navy officers gathered on the beach in Salina Cruz in the state of Oaxaca on Monday (September 26) to help school children release thousands of endangered Olive Ridley turtles back into the wild.

The turtles' eggs were hatched in incubators after they were extracted from their nests by the Mexican Navy in order to protect the eggs from looters.

Hundreds of thousands of Olive Ridley turtles usually land on Oaxaca's Pacific beaches as part of an annual egg-laying migration.

The eggs are a traditional part of the diet on Oaxaca's sweltering coastal plains, where markets openly display them alongside turtle meat, despite laws prohibiting their sale.

“The purpose of this event is to create awareness among the population and children to change the way turtle eggs are consumed and to care for and protect all endangered species,” said Lieutenant Rosario Martinez, adding that about 4,100 turtles had been released into on Monday.

As the time came to release the turtles, the gathered school children placed them on the sand and then cheered as the turtles trudged across the sand and into the sea.

“I felt happy because we released endangered animals and I think they were happy too because they were free,” said primary school student Karen Pacheco.

Martinez said about 8,000 turtles have been released into the wild in 2011 and by the end of the year 12,000 turtles would've been released.

Named for it's olive green carapace, or shell, the Olive Ridley sea turtle has been listed as endangered by the World Conservation Union since 1986 because of declining numbers.

Once slaughtered in their hundreds of thousands for meat and leather, omnivorous Olive Ridleys have yet to recover from centuries of overexploitation.

The small turtles have been spotted by ships far out to sea and they return to the same beaches each year to lay and bury in the sand up to 100 eggs each.

[DollHead]

Holy fuck I love this Finally some good news

[Faline]

Good news from Mexico

[Mr.Goodbar]

Zeta will probably kill them for some random reason

[Kim]

I want a baby turtle!

[meeb]

Tomorrow there will be a video posted in the death section of a pyramid of turtle's heads with a sign next to it scribbled in Spanish "Sorry for making Mexico look like a loving, sensitive place!"

[GODREKR]

^^

[rapeWhistle]

[**butterflylove**]

^^ yeah it won't be long before a few turtles will be found dead with their heads cut off

[scubahood]

i like turtles