Turtles in Chania

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My niece Katie is 19 and is working for a turtle sanctuary in Chania, Crete. The Archelon project involves ‘monitoring 14 km of nesting beaches, and the volunteers protect and monitor the nesting female turtles, the nests and hatchlings, and promote co-operation with local communities, authorities and the tourist industry in order to ensure the long-term conservation of the area.’

Being supportive relatives, (or nosy, embarrassing old bags – take your pick) my sister and I decided to gatecrash her working holiday, dragging my 10-year-old daughter with us. I think Kate was secretly pleased, as while we were there, she got to sleep in a bed, have a hot shower and get her washing done, none of which is easily accomplished on a campsite.

We were only there for a week, but we left Chania knowing an awful lot about turtles. We saw Kate and her team excavate a nest, one that had been relocated, as the mother turtle had laid eggs far too close to the water, and they were in danger of drowning before being hatched. This is not a sign of her ineptitude. It’s because, like salmon, they have a blind urge to lay eggs in the place in which they themselves hatched, so they have an unerring inner GPS that takes them back to their own birthplace. If it’s no longer suitable as a nest – say, a sodding great hotel has been plonked upon it – then that’s just tough. Her urge to lay and bury her eggs is so strong that she does the best she can. Once she’s finished the job, she doesn’t stick around. She lays 80-100 eggs at one time, fertilized by different males to ensure a diverse gene pool, then she buggers off, leaving her progeny to fend for themselves.

Any creature having that many babies really doesn’t want to get too attached to them. Only one in a thousand make it to adulthood. Partly, this is just the brutal natural order. Like frogspawn, turtle eggs and hatchlings make a spiffing snack for a host of other species, but even taking this into account, the survival odds are slim.

Turtles usually hatch at night, and are guided by the moonlight reflecting on the water to get to the sea. It’s essential that they make the journey themselves, as the effort they expend moving from the nest to the water opens up their tiny lungs and airways, allowing them to survive in the water. Often, well-meaning individuals pick them up to ‘help’ them on their way. Unless their lungs have cleared, they are unfit swimmers and will drown.

Heartbreakingly, many of these tiny creatures are misled by the lights of hotels, seaside restaurants and bars and make their journey in the wrong direction. These unfortunates will usually die of exhaustion without ever hitting a drop of water.

The little creatures are unbelievably cute and photogenic – see attached pic (the hand is included for scale). This is all very well if people take photos of them during the day, but more often, they will take pics by night when the turtles hatch. The flash from a camera can blind a baby turtle permanently. A blind turtle is not likely to live very long.

For all of the above reasons, Kate and her team spend a lot of time trying to educate locals and tourists to do whatever they can to improve the survival odds for these amazing creatures, which have been around since the days of the dinosaur.

The excavation we saw was highly successful. The vast majority of the hatchlings made it to the water. Three (including the one pictured) had to be re-buried to restock their stores of energy as they were too exhausted to make it first time. There are tiny air pockets in the sand allowing them to breathe while they recharge their batteries, before they make another dash for the water when the temperature of the sand drops, telling them it’s night time.

So, if you’re lucky enough to see a baby turtle on its maiden voyage, just watch and enjoy the moment, and don’t interfere. If it’s going the wrong way, gently turn it around with a stick – don’t touch it – and tap the sand in front of it to guide it in the right direction. They respond to vibrations in front of them, as they are usually part of a horde of babies all making a break for it together.

Well done, Kate! I’m dead proud of you. When I was your age, I certainly didn’t do anything worthwhile other than get drunk and have a good time. Although I suspect you’re doing a bit of that as well.

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