They came. They relaxed. And then they headed out to sea from the same beach their ancestors have used for thousands of year.
The Gumbo Limbo Nature Center helped more than 50 baby loggerhead and leatherback sea turtles on their journey to the ocean during a recent hatchling release.
The release, which took place at Red Reef Park, was a successful one, by all counts, with all but nine of the baby turtles — who were 3 days old or less — making their way into the surf to swim off to the floating grass beds of the Sargasso Sea, southwest of Bermuda, where they will feed and grow — or make a tasty snack for sea predators.
Because of the extreme heat, the hatchlings have been slower moving this season, said marine preservationist Kirt Rusenko.
Of the nine who didn’t make it that night, one died. The others were returned to the Gumbo Limbo, where they were to dine on shrimp to build their strength before embarking on their own journeys across the sea.
— Scott Simmons
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