Rare Sight Of A Leatherback Turtle Nesting In Barbados
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49 responses to “Rare Sight Of A Leatherback Turtle Nesting In Barbados”
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BU apologises to Christian, your email was overlooked.
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Awesome!!!
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I second that … awesome!!!
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The things females do for the next generation, what a responsibility…beautiful.
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Very interesting.I hope the area was flagged so as avoid disturbance or damage to the nest. and eggs.
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@ac
Good point, would love to know the answer.
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@David.
I rather doubt since most of us are not educated on such matters.But it would have made a good impression on barbados world wide since the enviromentalist groups would have pick up on it. Things of this nature also has a positive link for tourisim, especially when these groups are looking for enviromental countries to have yearly conventions .
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Correction
“enviromental friendly”
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I believe they have found leatherbacks and their eggs in beaches threatened by oil in the Gulf, and need to relocate the eggs. Would they consider relocating them here? Anyone have any contacts?
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@Chattel
maybe you can email the minister who deals with enviromental matters. I believe it to be Lowe. -
We have a long way to go before we can call this island “environmental friendly”.
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Are you aware that there are rouges out there who kill these animals for food and money?
They should be locked up!
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@BOsun
Taking care of the enviroment is a benefit to tourisim . Only people without vision and foresight are unable to tap into this industry. These are people who do a lot of travelling and would be more than happy to spend some of their cash here , but barbados has got to do more than show lip service when it comes to the enviroment. There are hundreds of dollars that this country can benefit from them.
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What I find so sad, is that when the young turtles get into the sea, predators reduce numbers so much that only a minimal percentage survive.
But, I guess that is the law of life and survival.
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Barbados has no laws in regard to the enviroment. This is supposed to be a country of high litteracy. I guess the litteracyonly benefits the privilege few.
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Barbados is “saving” a lot of Turtles on the west coast. I have been on the beach and observed people making sure that the females get back to the sea after laying their eggs.
There are turtles swimming in the bay at Paynes bay and at Lower Carlton. They are fed by tour boat operators. Tarpon also swim with the turtles.
When I was a boy, I liked turtle fin soup and turtle eggs. That was more than 40 years ago when it was LEGAL to catch and eat turtles.
Barbados was great in the 50s and 60s for those of us who lived near the beach.
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Barbados has some of the best environmental laws in the region – enforcement has always been a problem. Anyone who sees a nesting turtle should call 2300142
( Barbados Sea Turtle Project) who will tag the turtle and mark the nest. -
@Enviromental Lawas
A law only becomes law when it is enforced. Having something on the books mean nothing!so what good is having something if your not gonna use it. Maybe those who passed the law was only thinking of their political interset and not the well being of the country.
I email minister lowe. I’ll bet those turtle eggs would be destroyed befor he makes a response. I don’t call them laws. I call them lawlessness, As to the effect of the laws. recently pictures were taking of people stealing wildlife from the sanctuary. nothing has been done to apprehened the violators . What laws! -
I see that animal and all I see is meat… Meat in the legs/fins, enough to feed a family of four for a few months, if you could find a ‘fridge big enough…! Any animal with a head as small as a turtle’s in comparison to the rest of its body is fooood…! Turtles are really no longer endangered are they..? FOOOOOOOOD…! (At least I know where to find de eggs… Come on man, 95% of de babybama’s will be gobbled up by preditors anyway…!
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@BAF
Didn’t you say “Live and let live” now what did that turtle do to you? remember the seaegg I guess you gobbled up all dem too. Now the turtle, Shame on you!
but i still luv you. maybe we can hav some turtle soup togetherwuh yu tink? -
There is a greater law that we should live by. If we breach, the result is ours to have.
We all know right from wrong, I will not even argue semantics on that, each step you or I make, we know inherently whether it is a good one or bad.
We make a choice.
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@Crusoe
Unfortunately we live in a space which is now consumed by material thought. Hopefully some bright BU family member will submit a piece which addresses nature as an equation to wit we are all variables in said equation.
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Since the laws were changed to protect turtles, Barbados has seen a resurgence in the number of turtles nesting here. The majority of these are hawksbills which nest primarily on the west and south coasts, and the leatherbacks (much fewer in number) which favour the east coast. In recent years, the green turtle has also started to nest here. Professor Julia Horrocks of the University of the West Indies heads the very successful SeaTurtle project with a number of volunteers who have succeeded in reducing the poaching which was taking these survivors from previous geologic ages towards certain extinction. Even now, their future is regarded as uncertain so in answer to BAFBFP’s question, turtles are still threatened not just here but globally…by the factory ships which have overfished and almost emptied the world’s oceans of fish, by pollution, loss of habitat, taking of eggs..the list goes on. His further comment (maybe to set the cat among the pigeons)???? “I see that animal and all I see is meat” is sadly, too widely shared. Just a glance at the commentary in today’s Nation on the bushmeat trade in West Africa tells how grim the situation is for wildlife, not only there but in Asia and South America as well. At seven billion humans, the situation is already untenable..what will it be like in forty years time, when earth’s human population will be ten billion?
But back to turtles and by extension whales. A dead turtle or cetacean is a very short term and uneconomic misuse of a non renewable resource. The tourism statistics clearly show the benefits of preserving these life forms for education/viewing in the wild. If BAFBFP’s dictum had been followed, there would have been no turtles left on the West coast…compare therefore the short term benefits of a meal versus years of employment opportunities for boating crews and word of mouth advertising from visitors who enjoy the experience of swimming with turtles. Add to this the international recognition that Barbados has received from running a very successful turtle conservation programme…and ultimately, the most important effect, scientifically and morally, the preservation of a species which human activities brought to the brink of extinction. All Barbadians should be proud of the achievements to date of the turtle programme. -
@BAFBFP
For an animal such as yourself, with so much potential to be intelligent, all I see is an utter ignoramus, to suggest that because the size of the turtles head in relation to the rest of it’s body qualifies it to be food. -
Because of people with BAFBFP’s mentality, our children/grandchildren, great neice/nephew and beyond may never be graced with the glory of seeing such a magnificent creature.
Now I wonder if the turtle would think the same thing of us… just “meat”. I’m sure the “preditor” mentioned, like a shark, would think that if it was hungry enough. Those eggs are being watched and protected now… Thankfully the new generation is being better eduacated, so we will get fewer people with this veiw. And as BAFBFP correctly mentioned, a small percentage of these hatchlings may be consumed by a preditor, however we as humans (supposedly being the smarter beings) having more self-control and options to food, do not need to put ourselves on that preditor list. We can help these animals survive so that they can be enjoyed just as much as we enjoy them now. And yes, one day they maybe concidered as food again, but it doesnt mean we take the liberty to eliminate them now.Barbados should be extremely proud at its success rate to assist in the growth population in sea turtles. Concidering that this population has increased without keeping turtles in captivity.
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ac, I called the sea turtle project and they came and actually dug up the eggs after the female left to ensure a healthy nest and good eggs. They were returned and positioned properly etc, of course.
The laws surrounding these activities were clearly on display since the volunteer came and identified himself with identification. Upon digging for the eggs he was aggressively challenged by a coast guard officer who was driving by. After proving he was a legitimate party, they then ensured the nest was returned to normal and marked.
Two other volunteers arrived and they recorded the lengths and descriptions of the animal.
I spotted about 3 or 4 more nests along northern Cattlewash as well. These were surrounded by tracks from people driving on the beach.
Please don’t kill these creatures, nor drive on their habitat please, its against the law.
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Karl Watson, Concerned, M
No need to be so thin-skinned. BAFBFP is just making a little joke and all of you are ready to tar n feather him.
Stop it please. It is unwarranted.
Chawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, relax man.
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BAFBFP
Gotta protect my ‘interest’ ya kno. 🙂 -
@Christian Payne
I really am happy to hear the good news . .Thanks for bringing this matter to public. It is all about education., In this case one picture was worth a thousand words..Now we have to work on Barbados cleaning up the waterways and streets. Phone calls and letters would help address to Minister Lowe.
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Even though BAF was inconsiderate in his comment. He actually made those in the silent majority step forward and contribute neccesary valuable information about the possible extinction of turtles So all well thay ends well. However we have plenty of work to in educating the public. BU has an opened ear your opinions and comments are appreciated.
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Jack v Bonny
Two sides of the same coin, dontcha just love ’em.
You both carry on, carrying on with the motley.
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Straight talk
And I thought all along that if I had but one friend on BU, it was you. Now I have been deceived.
But seriously, between me n you, I feel dat Jack Sprat got a lil ‘likin’ fa me but he’s too shy to tell. You could put in a word fa he.
I still likes you doe Straight Talk. Deception n all. (winking at ya) -
@Christian
Thanks for being proactive in this matter.
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As a kid we always saw leatherbacks laying eggs on the East Coast. No one took the eggs or the animals. It was rumored that the egg whites were plastic like so you could only eat the yolks and the turtles were so big no one wanted to waste the meat. I once saw one almost the size of Graydon Sealy’s volkswagen beetle. It had damaged an eye coming in through the rocks just below Edgewater and was disoriented, so we helped it back into the sea. I was about 14 at the time.
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Pat
So did you eat turtle too? The thought of eating turtle is making my stomach quiver. I don’t think that I could eat it knowingly. But I had venison in Germany and it was greatttttttttt. Maybe I would try turtle someday but just don’t let me know until a few days after it has digested. LOLLL -
@ Bonnie Peppa
Man, I murdered turtle as a child. You purge it for a few days and nothing is wasted. Some parts taste and look like pork and the legs like beef. We stewed it with rum and lots of seasoning. It was good and had a delectable smell. I am not sure I would eat it now. I never ate the eggs but the rest of the family did. They were like ping pong balls and had to be cut with a knife or pinched and torn, no cracking here.
In 2007 some hatched at Bathsheba and got stuck in mud and could not reach the sea. My cousin told me people watched and they were baked by the sun. I told him he should have picked them up and put them in the surf. I explained to him that they were an endangered species and and if he sees them going towards the road or stuck in mud from the many gullies he should retrieve them and put them in the ocean. He said he did not know all of this, so an education program is needed.
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Pat
Thanks for de info. But i don’ tink dat I could touch a turtle ta put it back in or near de ocean. My skin would ‘walk’. Some tings Bonny just can’ do man. I might vomit too. I would probably get a lil stick n guide dem back to safety but not with my hands. No.. -
Pat
One of my grans had a pet turtle called Betty-Lou and a stray dog made it her meal one day. She cried for a year. Cuh dearrrrrrrrrrr. -
Man Christian;
T’anks fah showin’ me where to fin’ dem eggs man. We murdah some eggs las’ night…! The chicken population ah Ba’bados would give me a medal..!
“Save de Chickens, Save de Pork.. Eat more turtles…!” I wonder how these turtle lovers feel ’bout alligators and crocks…! Dey ain’ reptiles too..? Fishermen, in particular the divers, will tell you dat de turtle population is a nuisance… They are belligerent..! They poke their noses right in your face…
FOOOOD man…
ac
You mus’ know that I loves’ tah eat..! According tah de Mighty Sparrow… “Eat she RAW…!”
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We used to have many Land or S**t turtles around. Remember a driver one day looking for a big rock to scotch his truck, pick up this thing and place it under the back wheel, next thing ya know ,the scotch walked away and the truck went a- rolling down the road.He had picked up a land turtle.
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Bosun
Ya comic. -
Bosun
You definitely in the TOP drawer! -
@Bosun
I’ll forgive that man ’cause I think he was blind!
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Thanks Christian for that beautiful picture. I always have the feeling that there is something ‘other wordly’ about turtles.
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@BAFBFP.
I suppose you think that the front page of todays barbadostoday.bb is also funny. -
a very sick person to have dismembered a defenseless turtle .i read the story but was unable to look at the pictures. very sick indeed. what de hell could a turtle have done to such a person.
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Hi everyone in Barbados,
I was on the westcoast in the early morning and me and a jogger found a baby turtle. We put it in the ocean. Is their a group I could join to help with saving the local sea turtles? Ive been in love with sea turtles ever since….lisa@bimshire.net -
Lovely Pictures….Amazing!!
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Baffy you’d better not turn up in Borneo. Them fellas there see a big ass man wid a small head like yours and all they see is FOOD!
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