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Marc De Verteuil / Papa Bois Conservation
Dead leatherback sea turtle hatchlings and smashed eggs are seen on the island of Trinidad after heavy equipment was used to divert a river on July 8.
Thousands of leatherback sea turtle hatchlings and eggs were crushed over the weekend by bulldozers and excavators used to divert a river on the Caribbean island of Trinidad.
"Unfortunately the engineers in charge bulldozed a far greater portion of beach than necessary, and they did destroy many viable nests," the Papa Bois Conservation group posted on its Facebook page.
It wasn't immediately clear how much of an impact the tragedy would have on the critically endangered species, but the group noted that it happened on "the world's most densely populated leatherback nesting beach."
Papa Bois said it wasn't opposed to diverting the river, since it had been eroding not only a local eco-tourist hotel but the nesting area itself. But it noted that the work was done without supervision by "any of the local turtle protection groups."
It also didn't blame the equipment operators, but those "higher up" who told the crews where to work -- "not one of whom was on site to make sure the works were done with as little damage as possible," the group added. "There was no coordination, no leadership."
Marc De Verteuil / Papa Bois Conservation
These leatherback sea turtle hatchlings were saved from heavy equipment that shifted a beach on Trinidad, one of two major islands that make up Trinidad and Tobago.
Sherwin Reyz, a member of the Grand Riviere Environmental Awareness Trust, saved some 500 hatchlings but estimated that up to 20,000 eggs were crushed or consumed by vultures and stray dogs that quickly moved in to eat the remains.
"They had a very good meal. I was near tears," Reyz told the Associated Press. "It was a disgusting mess."
Female sea turtles return to the beaches where they were born to dig sandy nests and incubate eggs. Leatherbacks lay about 100 eggs at a time, but not even 1 percent survive to adulthood.
Leatherbacks are the largest sea turtle species -- some more than 7 feet long and weighing 2,000 pounds. They can live 100 years.
They are also one of seven species of sea turtles, all of which are endangered due to reduced habitat, human consumption of eggs and even being caught up in fishing gear.
Marc De Verteuil / Papa Bois Conservation
This sea turtle hatchling did not survive when heavy equipment diverted a river on a Trinidad beach.
The Trinidad hotel owner who had been asking the government to redirect the Grand Riviere River said he was shocked by how it was handled.
"For some reason they dug up the far end of the beach, absolutely encroaching into the good nesting areas," Piero Guerrini, an Italian who owns Mt. Plaisir Estate Hotel, told the Associated Press. "This could have been avoided with a much wiser approach. But it was done too late and it was done in the wrong way."
Guerrini's hotel was full of tourists who had come to this Caribbean country to see the tiny leatherback hatchlings head for the sea. Instead they saw hatchlings dying in front of their eyes. "This really put a lot of bad images in people's minds," he added.
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Leave a Comment:
When life gives you bulldozed turtles...make turtle soup.
your really cute @!$%#!!!!!!!!
Thats gonna make alot of folks mad. Only a "SMALL" handfull of folks like turtle soup.
They raise these turtles in the Caribbean like we do hogs & cattle. If your a tourist & got $100 you can buy one & release it in the ocean. I don't believe they are endangered down there.
"They are also one of seven species of sea turtles, all of which are endangered due to reduced habitat, human consumption of eggs and even being caught up in fishing gear." Really? Endangered solely because of human activity? Absolutely no natural reasons? Incredible!
I see your sarcasm and raise you a hefty dose of reality. Yes, endangered solely because of human activity. Humans have made extinct or nearly exterminated a number of species on this planet. The bison, dodo, passenger pigeon... need I go on? Denial and ignorance are not valid excuses.
Your both wrong. They have MANY natural predators. Birds and fish are among them.
In fact, the hatchings and subsequent run for the sea usually triggers a major feeding frenzy amongst the birds that eat them. The sight of baby turtles being eaten is actually quite common.
the enviromental ministry said that the media of trinidad and tobago has lie to the people its just a few hundred but here i am seeing its thousands
I'll bet the dozers' work had nothing to do with saving the turtles and everything to do with the hotel. Why are they pretending now that the project had to do with improving the nesting area? I don't believe it for a minute. If it had been, the heavy equipment operators would have known about it and stopped as soon as the nests were uncovered. The "eco-tourist" hotel should be boycotted in retaliation. It does go to show you that any lodging hotel can call itself "eco-tourist" and have no care for the environment or the creatures it is making money from.
Withhold any foreign aid to the country and give it to a conservation group
Trinidad is a very rich country. I don't think they need anyone's aid.
So true, lots of money from Gas and Grass.
They are still trashy pirates, even after 300 years
This is one case where the tortoise did not beat the hare.
Wow, so sad.
You just cant fix stupid.
20,000 turtle eggs destroyed on accident is too bad....but to put it in perspective Americans intentionally abort the same number of babies every 6 days...now that is sad
fetuses, not babies...call it crime prevention, or perhaps a life saving operation. How many kids have you adopted, btw?
Oh my gosh you are sooooo enlightened. (rolling eyes)
Speakergeek, whatever term you want to use to describe it, the fact remains that if you leave it alone for 9 months you will have a human baby.
who cares, 'leave it alone?' How quaint.
To clarify, my previous remarks were in reply to who cares-684280. I'd like to add that who cares-684280 is a MUCH better person than the rest of us. And really? F' biodiversity.
On a related note, anyone find it strange that if you want to adopt an animal you need to sign a form, be interviewed, etc, but any idiot can have a baby?
GEE heres a thought!!! Why not wait until after the turtles hatch to move the sand? Guests in the were there too watch them hatch so all new they were there in the sand!!!! Collective stupity all around!!!
Most people are freaking idiots!
Nice job morons. Perhaps you may want to consider a little planning and research before you go and play with grownup toys.
There is no leadership to be found in this country...only greed.
Couldn't they have waitied until the eggs hatched? Everyone is in a HURRY!!!! SAD that the animals have to pay for our stupidity...What if the turtles were in charge? SAD SAD SAD
I don't understand why they couldn't have waited until the eggs had hatched and the beach was void of nests? Was the problem such it had to be done immediately? Really frustrating to see people who can't pull their heads out of their nether regions and use there brain. Tragedy that could have been avoided in so many different ways.
That is terrible, what a bunch of A holes!!!!!!!! They knew what they were doing and didn't care.
I have worked in places like this. In developing countries, the elite are the only ones who are educated, but they usually cannot be bothered to actually show up and get their feet dirty at worksites. They delegate to ignorant workers for whom life is cheap, who wouldn't know an endangered sea turtle from a stray dog and would as soon run a bulldozer over either one. We only learned about this event because foreign ecotourists happened to see it. Similar catastrophes happen all the time in places like this, where the profoundly ignorant have access to heavy equipment and the elite can't be bothered to do proper hands-on management. And so these places remain poor, backward catastrophes...
Please do some research, you do know that tertiary education is free in Trinidad right?...So no, sorry to burst your bubble but the majority of Trinidadians are educated, not just "the elite".
They gave the go ahead to have it done and only because there is an outcry they are all like whoops not sure why that happened....BULL@!$%#
Progress. yuk
This story is a metaphor for how humans impact the world they live in. We clod through the forests and swim through the seas with feet that are so large they destroy everything they touch. With our heads so high in the clouds we don't notice the destruction we leave behind.
We think of ourselves as giants; we are so arrogant that we think our actions have no consequences. We won't realize how insignificant we are until it's too late. As the old saying goes, the bigger you are, the harder you fall.
Now we know why they are endangered. SAD.....
this is so sad. so what if the actual operators were not given specific instructions from their bosses who were not there. why would they not stop, make a call and wait until the bosses arrived and if necessary refuse to do it?? just sick. i hope that the company is fined and made to help assist the turtle population make it to sea and possible sancutary area made. only 1% survive as it is and they destroyed 20,000??? make them pay and give the money to 'save the leatherback turtles'.
Yes humans have become a disease on the planet but only because they have lost sight of their connection with nature and allowed greed and ego to guide their actions instead of what is good for all life on the planet (human, plant and animal) and leaving a viable planet for future generations. Short sightedness and the love of money and power rule humans actions for the most part. Just look around at those 'in power' and what society values most...money and material possession. Too late will humans find you cannot eat money.
According to the article the supervisors didn't bother to be there or provide good direction. A mistake? I don't think so. It was gross negligence and failure to do their job properly. And the machinery operator just did what they were 'told', not a one stopping or questioning that it might be wrong? As the turtles had nested there for thousands of years I doubt it was a secret. Such blind stupidity.
wow heres a thought, wait until the turtles hatching season is over and then screw up there habitat. Collective stupidty all around evidently!!!!! Bet those hotel guest who were there to see the hatchings will come back again!!!!! MORONS each and every one!!
Isn't there a specific time table for the nesting and hatching of these turtles? With it being a well known nesting spot, why wasn't the work scheduled after the hatching? It appears that the hatching was in the process of starting. I can't believe the bulldozer operators, who were more than likely locals, could not see what was happening. Why not stop and at least call your boss with the info. Stupidity all around.
yes...and that is why some people make a vacation of watching these little creatures race to the sea...hopefully those that usually buy a few days in the near-by hotels will cancel...remind these people that one of the reasons they have money coming in is because of these turtles.
Not this season.
I was there on Sunday...this is typical of all things done in Trinidad...they do not look beyond the tip of their nose.
Welcome to the country of lawlessness and the gov't revels in it