Crete tourist guide

Turn off the lights and save the turtles

2020-08-02 20:27:57

Crete is a place where Caretta caretta turtles go ashore and make their nests on some beaches in late May and early June. About 80 days after their insertion, the hatching period begins, which is happening right now. The first young turtles have already completed the most important journey from the nest to the sea. In recent hours, however, an appeal from the Archelon organization appeared in the media: turn off the lights and save the turtles.

On beaches close to towns and villages, turtle hatches are the most vulnerable. This is especially true on the beaches near Chania, Rethymno, Adelianos Kampos, Platanias and between Sfakaki and Skaleta. Artificial lighting confuses young Caretta caretta , which hatch at night and in the early morning hours. Under normal conditions, the moonlight illuminates the water, which is a kind of signpost for young specimens that direct them towards the sea. However, artificial lighting causes the turtles to misinterpret the direction and deviate from the road, which only means one thing for them. Hence this peculiar appeal to local authorities and companies operating by the beaches to turn off the lighting after 23.00.

Every year, Archelon volunteers carefully tag each nest and monitor it until it hatch. This year, however, due to travel restrictions and various preventive measures related to the pandemic, there are significantly fewer volunteers working for Archeolon. Due to the staff shortages, not every established nest was discovered and properly marked.

Over 120 nests have been located in the Rethymno area, but it is estimated that around 60 have not been found or marked. Similarly in Chania, where about 65 nests have been officially registered, but estimates assume there are about 130 nests in total. This means that in many places in Crete Caretta caretta will appear "unexpectedly" in the near future. In order to protect these young animals, which in such a situation will be on their own, people must do everything in their power to let the chicks end up in the water, not on the streets and in the bushes.

Gosia,  2020-08-02 20:27:57

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