Turtles at Rosalie Bay

Yesterday we drove two hours to the other side of the island to see the opening of a baby leatherback turtle nest. The organization is called Dominica Sea Turtle Conservation Organization. Here is their Facebook page as well. The main turtle expert is Simon; he and others watch the beaches at Rosalie Bay to see where the big female Leatherbacks lay their eggs, and then they move the nest to a safe protected area. After the incubation period is done and as many baby turtles as could dig their way out of the sand have left and made it to the ocean, Simon opens up the nest to help any others that are too weak to dig free on their own. We drove down there with several other families who are also here for med school in a van driven by one of our favorite transport drivers, Peter. We got there a little early (the nest opening was scheduled for 4 PM), so we walked around throwing rocks in the river and ocean and just hanging out.

Eventually we walked down the beach to the nesting area to watch the nest excavation.

This is us with Simon, the turtle expert.

Simon explained a little bit about what they do and about the Leatherback turtles and then started digging up one of the nests. He found two little turtles that hadn't quite dug their way out. He set them aside to finish digging up the nest to count the empty egg shells, the rotten eggs, the partially developed embryos, and the yolk-less eggs for research purposes.

Some of the kids hovering around the turtles in the bucket.

He dug a short way down in another nest to get two more baby turtles as well and then carried all four a bit closer to the ocean, so they could crawl the rest of the way down. Some of our group got to hold the baby turtles, but they say it isn't recommended and one of the other guests was yelling at people about holding them, so we didn't hold them, but we got some pictures with them crawling.

William watched them for a little while, but he was more interested in playing in the sand and collecting seaweed than he was in watching the turtles.

It was really cool to see them. It was amazing how they knew where the ocean was. Simon said it was because of the light. We washed William off from playing in the sand, ate some quick snacks for dinner, and loaded back up in the van for the long drive home. We got home around 8 PM, so it was a long afternoon/evening and the kids didn't love the long drive, but it was a neat experience that we will probably never have again, so I am glad we did it.