A Typical Day for a Sea Turtle Surveyer Face first in a three-and-a-half foot deep hole, breaking into a clutch of decomposing sea turtle eggs, I’ve never been more thankful for having not eaten breakfast. Pulling the eggs out in handfuls, my abs burn from holding my body in place to keep the sand from caving in. Once all the eggs are out, I start […]

‘Why is no one helping the baby turtles?’ Planet Earth II viewers were left distraught by the plight of hatchling turtles facing death after being attracted towards a busy road by light pollution. The final episode of Sir David Attenborough’s hit programme showed the babies in Barbados wrongly heading across a beach towards a town rather than the sea. With 80 per cent of them

Another day, another dead wildlife ranger. Where is the outrage? Protecting wildlife is no longer just a case of stopping poaching by poor local villagers. Illegal wildlife crime is now estimated to be worth more than $20bn (£16bn) per year, ranked only behind drugs, weapons and human trafficking in the criminal value chain. Rangers face well-organised criminal gangs and hardened armed militia. Rebel groups often

Turtle murder mystery at Misery Bay solved The case of the mysterious deaths of over 71 turtles in 2013 at Misery Bay Provincial Park has finally been closed and a plan has been recommended to hopefully catch any future mortalities more quickly at the park. “The turtles most likely died due to a predation event, but I believe that the deaths may have resulted from

Land reclamation in Malaysia puts environment and turtles at risk The island of Pulau Upeh is only a few kilometres north of the UNESCO-listed city. For generations it has been the state’s major nesting site for the critically-endangered hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), but reclamation is encroaching. Once two kilometres out to sea, Pulau Upeh is now only 600 metres offshore. The effect on the turtle

Glover’s Reef in Belize provides refuge for sea turtle Threatened hawksbill sea turtle are thriving in the protected water of Glover’s Reef, one of the world’s great barrier reef system in Belize. A recent study showed that the coral reefs around the atoll are home to more than 1,000 young hawksbill turtles. “The findings of our research show that juvenile hawksbill turtles are thriving at

Prince Harry visits the turtle sanctuary at St Vincent and the Grenadines The prince visited the turtle conservation project at Colonarie beach on St Vincent and the Grenadines. Even since turtles have become endangered in the Caribbean, nations have allowed coastal communities to carry on hunting turtles for one month each year when they are most numerous. But from January that will no longer be

Red Cliffs project to restore burned tortoise habitat Mohave desert landscapes are not adapted to wildfire because plants and shrubs were too widely spread to carry a fire very far. However, invasive annual species such as cheat grass now provide a continuous fuel source that can fuel fires which take decades or centuries to heal. This week, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources staff along