TBD: 2012

Monday, December 31, 2012

Hatchlings!!!!

While on Curieuse, one of our jobs was to go on "wurtles" or turtle walks to look for turtle nests along the beach. I was hoping to see a turtle actually nesting, as I saw a handful of turtles on Bird Island either coming up out of the ocean to nest, or returning to the ocean but never actually laying their eggs. I didn't see that on Curiese either - I saw something even better - hawksbill hatchlings!! I happened to be walking past a nest at the exact right time and saw a bunch of tiny little turtles rushing across the beach straight to the ocean. I might have started screaming and jumping up and down until the other two GVI gals came over to see (don't worry, I didn't step on any). I have never seen so many adorable little creatures move SO FAST across a beach - it was truly amazing to watch. We got to see them peeking their heads out of the sand for the very first time and head out across the sand and rocks to the ocean. Some fell over on their backs, some started out going the wrong way, a couple were taken by crabs sadly, but the majority made it to the ocean to start their life out at sea (if they didn't get eaten by a bird) that is). It was definitely one of the most amazing things I have ever witnessed in my life.

crawling out of the nest

falling over (don't worry, he got back up)

tired little guy

Curieuse

The day after Christmas, I got to go on a "business trip" to Curieuse Island, where the other Seychelles GVI base is located. Curieuse is a small island just north of Praslin and a national marine park. Currently the only people allowed to spend the night on Curieuse are GVI staff and volunteers and park rangers with the Seychelles National Parks Authority (SNPA). Everyone else has to leave the island by 5pm, so it is pretty isolated (and incredible). GVI runs terrestrial programs on Curieuse, monitoring turtle nests and coco de mer trees and the base is actually an old leper colony, which is a lot less creepy than it sounds. We helped out with maintenance and repairs, toured the island, held baby tortoises and went on a couple turtle walks looking for nesting turtles. Though we didn't actually see any nesting turtles, we did lots of turtle tracks and actually got to see hatclings coming out of the nest and making their way to the ocean, which was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen in my life (and will post about separately). It was an incredible few days and lots of fun to see the other base and meet the other GVI staff, including Digby, the GVI base dog. On the way back, we stopped at the Valley de Mai on Praslin, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to a large concentration of coco de mer trees - the place looks like a prehistoric tropical rain forest. I was waiting for a dinosaur to jump out, but no such luck - just small geckos and birds.