Real Story. Real Stupid.
Newly hatched green sea turtle.
Maafaru, an island the Maldives has long been known to be a popular nesting beach location for hundreds of turtles. This year when a female green turtle returned to lay her eggs on the sandy beach she was faced with a 1.3-mile runway instead. Normally turtles dig a nest in the sand between 1 and 2 feet deep with their rear flippers to safely bury their clutch but this obviously wasn't possible on the asphalt tarmac. The turtle left marks on the asphalt from her effort to move across it and people reported that she was able to get back to the water safely. Locals report that the number of turtles attempting to lay eggs on the beach has not appeared to have declined.
These turtles will continue to lay their eggs in this same location despite the runway and this will no doubt decrease their population to some degree.
Green sea turtles are an endangered species. They are endangered due to being hunted for food, pollution, entanglement in fishing nets, and habitat destruction.
Green sea turtles can live to be 80 years old in the wild even though only about 1 percent of turtles live to reach sexual maturity which can be anywhere between age 20 and 50 years old. Adults can reach a length of 5 feet and can weigh between 150 to 400 pounds or more. They live their life grazing on seagrass in shallow meadows.
Green sea turtles migrate between feeding grounds and spawning grounds. They migrate thousands of miles across the ocean to mate. They do this because they return to the same beach that they hatched to mate and lay their eggs. Males make this trip each year in an attempt to breed while females do this only every 2 to 4 years. The reason for this natal homing is because they want to give their offspring the best chance at survival. They return to the places that have sandy beaches with ideal temperatures that are in close proximity to the water with a lower threat of predators. What better place to go to than the very spot that provided you all of those things?
My two cents: Why someone would build a 1.3-mile runway along a sandy beach known to be nesting grounds to hundreds of endangered sea turtles is greed plain and simple. It's truly sad and disturbing to me. Since the fate of the eggs is unknown, I am left to wonder what happened to them. Did someone bury them, did someone toss them aside, or were they left to cook in their own shell? Turtles follow instinct and will continue to lay at this location. They can't just decide to find a new place instead. Let's hope the Maafaru International Airport is worth it.
Rating: I give the story of endangered eggs on a hot tarmac 4 out of 5 possible slow claps. Once again, human greed trumps all else.
Green sea turtle laying her eggs on the tarmac.
A closer look.
The 1.3-mile runway in all of its glory.
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