Over the weekend, baby turtles were released in Panama with the aim of saving the marine species. The initiative was led by an environmental foundation on a Pacific beach.
On Saturday, dozens of hatchlings emerged from a container and slowly made their way to the ocean, under the gaze of hundreds of people.
The TortuguÃas Foundation, which seeks to protect sea turtles in the Central American country, has been carrying out these releases since late August to help save endangered species.
They released baby turtles to save the species: the initiative
In total, 43 baby turtles were sent to the sea in Punta Chame, and on Monday, 173 more. The efforts made by the organization are not new or unique in this country and the region. And although conservationists say that many of the hatchlings would not survive, there is a handful that will.
The initiative to save sea turtles.
The foundation has been working on the conservation of sea turtles for about 14 years and has managed to release over 485,000 hatchlings during that period, environmentalist Kerya Hernández, one of the founders, told The Associated Press.
According to scientific research, only one out of every 1000 would survive to adulthood. “It is a motivation to continue this arduous task of conserving this species,” she explained.
How the operation was carried out
The babies released on Punta Chame beach, about 165 kilometers west of Panama City by road, belong to a turtle species whose scientific name is Lepidochelys olivacea, but is more commonly known as the “Olive Ridley” due to the shape of its jaw, which aids in its feeding.
The Ministry of Environment of Panama indicated in a report from June of last year that the Olive Ridley turtle and four other species of sea turtles: Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), Loggerhead (Caretta caretta), and Green (Chelonia mydas)—are on the “red list”.
In other words, they are in danger of extinction according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which brings together governments and civil society organizations with the aim of protecting nature and preserving life on Earth.
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