Corridor to the sea


When baby turtles hatch, they instinctively head for the brightest light they see. For thousands of years, the brightest light near the sea was the light of the moon, reflected on the waves. Now, in many turtle nesting areas, the brightest light is a streetlight, restaurant, bar, hotel, or brightly-lit house. Baby turtles that head towards those lights will never reach the sea, which is usually in the opposite direction.

Where turtle nests have been built in places with bright, competing lights, Toulipa Goulimyi builds a corridor from the nest to the sea, so the hatchlings will find their way to their new home. This photo shows Toulpia Goulimyi volunteer leader Maria Aronis inspecting a turtle corridor near the municipal ferry dock in Neapolis, Lakonia. 

Some turtles hatched the previous night. The hatch will continue for three or four days, as eggs from the bottom of the nest hatch and the babies make their way up through the sand to the surface. To properly imprint their hatching site in their brains, the baby turtles must cross the sand to the sea themselves. As they move their limbs, flailing through the sand, their lungs start properly inflating. The hatchlings initial journey to the sea is an important part of their development!
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