Author: Madalin Miu

We touched down on the island of Zakynthos on a misty September morning. After we got settled we met Anna Lamaj, Zakynthos Program Project Leader for the ARCHELON Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece. We planned everything out together then took care of the logistical and bureaucratic elements. After this we headed to Zante Town, the capital city of Zakynthos, to meet with amazing people of the Zakynthos National Marine Park and obtain our final project approvals. We’d just like to take this opportunity to say that The Wildlife and Ecology Photography Association of Romania thanks the Management Agency of the Zakynthos National Park for granting us permission to photograph within the protected area of Laganas Bay.

We met Anna the next morning to go to one of the nesting beaches located in the protected area of the National Marine Park of Zakynthos, called Gerakas Beach. There we would join a team of volunteers that were monitoring the nests to identify if any hatchlings came out during the past night. They previously identified a nest of turtles that have hatched and wanted us to document the process of excavating the nest and taking the specific measurements.

Anna informed us that mother loggerhead sea turtles lay their eggs in Zakynthos between early June and late July. After the eggs are laid, it takes approximately 50-60 days for the hatchlings to emerge. Thus, after the incubation period is finished a small crater above the nest will be visible. This indicates that the turtle eggs will soon hatch and the hatchlings will come out. When they do so, they leave behind little turtle tracks which lead from the nest to the sea.

We finally arrived at Gerekas and, after passing a Zakynthos National Marine Park information center, we found ourselves on a small hill overlooking the beach. When we went down close to the sea, we noticed a lot of umbrellas and beach chairs, which was no surprise given the immense beauty of this place. We also noticed something even more interesting: there was a delignation that prevented access all along the area where the loggerhead nests were laid.

We met with the monitoring team and they took us to the nest they were going to excavate. After Anna showed me the turtle tracks and I took a couple of photos, the team started preparing. They started putting on rubber gloves, clearing the sand around the nest and removing its identification elements. While they were doing this they also explained to us that around 10 days ago they started seeing turtle tracks going from this nest to the sea. By now most of the eggs have hatched and so they will excavate the nest and see how many hatchlings emerged and how many did not (and why).

They started carefully digging, taking out egg shells and placing them on a parcel of clear sand. I was taking some photographs of the egg shells and the unhatched eggs, when suddenly I heard something that made my heart skip a beat: “I’ve got a live one.”, said one of the volunteers.

They rapidly dug a small trench in the sand and placed the hatchling, while keeping it in the shade the entire time. He was soon joined by a brother or sister. I managed to snap out of my amazement and started carefully taking photographs of the 6cm baby loggerhead sea turtles. Anna later informed us that some hatchlings are not strong enough to emerge from the nest when the mass hatchling frenzy takes place. This may also happen because of various conditions that may alter the structure of the sand (compaction, rocks, etc.)

After the hatchlings were deemed strong enough to make it to the sea on their own, a dint in the trench was created by the volunteers. The small loggerheads started heading for the water in a frenzy, while we were trying to shade them from the blinding sun. They finally made it to the water in the cheers of the onlookers that were by now gathered around the amazing scene.

Anna then took the opportunity to explain to everyone what to do in case we witness hatchlings emerging: “If we happen to see a hatchling we should never touch it. We should leave it to reach the sea on its own because it needs to exercise its flippers and remember exactly what route it took to the sea. This is because female loggerhead sea turtles return to lay their eggs in the exact place they were born. If you would like to help hatchlings, the best thing to do is remove the sand in front of it and try to shade it from the sun. Nothing more.”

We took a minute to contemplate on the miracle we had just witnessed and brush the sand out off our equipment. We then started slowly but surely heading back to the base camp of ARCHELON to discuss what we experienced today and plan for our next photographic sea turtle experience.

We were really happy to document the loggerhead sea turtles of Zakynthos and we hope that the little we have done to raise awareness will have an impact on the further protection efforts of this endangered species. We couldn’t have done this without the support of the ARCHELON Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece and we’d like to personally thank Anna Lamaj, Zakynthos Program Project Leader. If you would like to help, you could by doing the following: