Dreaming of Turtle Hatchlings

~Photo courtesy of Visit Corpus Christi~

Beginning in mid June and continuing through the dog days of the hot Texas summer, the beaches of South Padre Island are filled with cheerleaders. Just as dawn breaks over the ocean, tiny Kemp’s Ridley turtle hatchlings are released on the beach. Spectators silently cajole the little turtles as they make the difficult scramble from the beach to the ocean. Statistically, only 1 in 1000 will survive into adulthood, but that does not stop the crowds from gathering to hope against hope that they tenacity of the turtles will prevail.

Nature follows no schedule, but her own. So, I am left biding my time until the mama turtles get the signal to crawl onto the beach and begin laying their eggs. At that point, it will be 45-50 days until the first hatchling release. Updates will be posted on the Sea Turtles Inc. website, allowing excited visitors like us, to begin planning for a trip that will coincide with the hatch. In the meantime, I will be cheering from my living room that the circle of life will continue one miraculous egg at a time.

~See what others are dreaming of at The Mother of All Trips~