Sea Turtle Rescue

Thursday began with a typical morning exercise routine that involved a 4 mile run, with a glorious jump off of High Rock to interrupt the tedious pounding of running.  Since this day was designed by David and Remo to be an exploratory trip through South Eleuthera, we needed to get on the road soon after breakfast.

In the van, we made a decision to spend some time exploring a blue hole.  This is a place where the limestone eroded away when the sea level was much lower and as the water level rose, they became underwater caves.  The ancient Lucayans believed that these were holy entrances into a different world.  In recent dive explorations, they have found ceremonial remains of Lucayans.  Additionally, the modern Bahamians have begun creating cemeteries on land closest to a blue hole in honor of the ancient traditions.

This hole was located about 300 yards off the beach and the entrance was 15 feet deep.  Jonny and Lyssa free dove down to the cave entrance and then explored a little deeper.  I got a few tips on free diving from Peter, who has experience working in the islands of the Pacific in addition to working in the Virgin Islands.  I could not get the hang of the breathing and recalibration of equilibrium at any depth, so my maximum depth was only 8 feet and I couldn't explore that area like I wanted to.

We continued "down island" which is actually moving north through Eleuthera.  We stopped at a cave where I spotted a 4 foot Bahamian boa constrictor.  I told Jonny, who in turn yelled at Remo to come have a look.  Remo grabbed the boa and as it began to wrap around his forearm, he launched into a speech on how when boas become scared or agitated they tend to urinate or defecate on the aggressor.  Well, that's exactly what happened moments later.

Exiting the cave system gave us the opportunity to have lunch at a place called Ocean Hole in Rock Sound.  I would compare this formation to an open pit quarry that was filled in, but it is actually the same as a blue hole, except the entrance is above ground.  Within the hole, Tiffany saw a green sea turtle.  According to the sign, local legend says that there is a hole which creatures swim in from the ocean.  Clearly there is a link between this hole and the ocean, because the water is brackish, however the likely explanation is that fishermen have brought in these animals and used it as a holding tank.

Tiffany, with her experience working in Fiji and Australia, was very comfortable handling the turtle.  Doing some additional research post-incident on the reputable website Wikipedia, gave me insight into the delicate relationship between green sea turtles and humans.  Local culture has considerable elements of turtle use, from soups to eating of the eggs, and using them in ceremonies like weddings or funerals.  Minor nesting spots have been found in the Bahamas and on Eleuthera but the expansion of tourism has caused stress on the local habitat and increased the possibility of accidentally treading on a nesting site.

Usually turtles will squirm and avoid being handled, but this guy was very placid.  It was assumed that the turtle had swallowed or chewed on some plastic detritus that fell into the Ocean Hole.  Because there is no natural vegetation in the hole, the turtles have a short life expectancy in that brackish water anyway, and the possibility to chewing on plastic makes the situation much more dire.

In a matter of two minutes, the lunch spread on the picnic table was put back into the van, and we were off to the races.  Remo drove and David gave directions, leading us to an amazing beach that from the road was obscured by a bluff.  Luckily, the turtle could survive for up to an hour on land and this trip only took minutes.  As Tiffany went out to guide the turtle into the water and toward a patch of seagrass, things did not look good.  Speculation ensued on whether the turtle was in a state of shock, or distress, or on the last breaths of life.  Once Tiffany had reached the patch, she released the turtle into the wild.  After moments of extreme trepidation, the turtle began swimming on its own and breathing.  Although clearly not strong enough to swim at great vigor, it had enough power to fight the current and at least maintain it's position laterally along the shore and at a distance equal to the shore.

Thoughtful reflection and discussion on the situation that led up to a trapped turtle and the need for a rescue keep us engrossed in conversation for long enough to lose sight of the green sea turtle.  It is assumed optimistically that this creature was just in shock and was playing dead for as long as it took for the humans to leave him alone.  No matter what the outcome, this individual turtle is now in a much better place and one that is more suitable for survival than what he was in when we found him.