A turtle hatchling release at the Padre Island in Corpus Christi
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At 6.45 am, on Father’s Day, the Padre Island National Seashore scheduled a Kemps Ridley sea turtle hatchlings release.
.If we wanted to witness this once in a lifetime event, our family needed to make a few sacrifices.
This meant waking the kids up at 5.30 am, taking an hour long drive to the seashore, and waiting patiently as the Rangers coordinated the release of 96 precious, Oreo cookie sized, hatchlings..
Did we do this?
You bet!.
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A turtle hatchling release at the Padre Island in Corpus Christi
Thankfully we reached a few minutes before the actual release.
The Ranger mentioned, of the 96 hatchlings being released, only about 3 would survive to be adult turtles.
(Wow!).
.When the Ranger placed the first few hatchlings on the sand, you could tell there was uncertainty.
As with all groups, there was one leader who decided to surge forward with all confidence….
.a few who thought they could piggy-back a ride….
.few who moved slowly, with caution….
.and yes, a handful of stragglers too..
.I’m sure they would have preferred the warmth of their Rangers’ hands to the sticky sand,.
.the security of a safe home,.
but this was a journey they had to take..
.Their Mamas watched protectively, with weapons to ward away hungry gulls.
And ensure their babies made it into the water okay..
.All 96 hatchlings were released into the sea by 7.25 am, on June 17, 2012.
And we’ve been told, the Rangers will be holding similar turtle releases all through the month of July.
If you do drive by Corpus Christi or live close by, this is an event you will not want to miss..
The little hatchlings don’t just make imprints on the sand, as they waddle their way to the sea….
.they also leave memorable tracks in your family’s chest of priceless memories.
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Love the pictures!
what a fantastic experience…the pics and captions were beautiful…could live your experience through them…that is one memory that wont fade away esp Bunny Girl and Bunny Boo xxx
Simply AMAZING! I love the pictures. I love turtles.
This is soooooo cool. I would just love to see this with my own eyes. All those little turtles are so sweet, I hope that their odds will be better, for having you cheering them on!
Wow what an awesome experience! Your pictures really show a lot of detail and the post is terrific. Thanks for sharing your families trip!
Michele
Wow this sure sounds like an awesome experience. Would love to take kids to something like this 🙂
I want to see a lot of turtles. I haven’t see many turtles in one area in real life. I want to experience this one.
That is so cool! I’ve seen it many times on television but I would love to be able to see it happening in person!
OH wow, we live in the Austin area and would love to drive down. Is there a site I could look at to see the dates in July?
They are so cute! They recently did a turtle rescue mission on the outbanks here in NC. These was a big article in the paper about it. That’s something I would love to take the kids to see!
What an amazing thing to see in real life. Nature is wonderful. I’ve been to an area in Florida where the turtles hatch, but never at the right time. Adding this to my bucket list.
I live in Corpus Christi and got a chance to experience this in person one time!! It was amazing! I even signed up to patrol the beaches for sea turtle hatchlings this season! Here is the facebook group page name for more updates about future hatchlings! =]
Padre Island NS Division of Sea Turtle Science & Recovery