A Human Wall Helps Baby Sea Turtles Find Their Way to the Ocean (VIDEO)

Over 100 endangered newborns made it into the water, thanks to some much-needed assistance.
Eyes on the prize: Volunteers surround the turtles, keeping them focused on their destination. (Photo: Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire/Facebook)
Jul 6, 2013· 1 MIN READ

If ever there was a perfect time for good news, today may just be it. While the Middle East rages in chaos, women’s rights come under fire in the U.S., and Paula Deen’s cookbook flies off bookstore shelves, it feels like an appropriate time to just throw our hands up and walk away. But then something amazing happens.

This week, over 100 loggerhead sea turtles were born on the island of Bonaire in the Caribbean. That alone is reason enough to celebrate, considering the species is endangered.

But in addition to their birth, the babies received some much-needed help in finding their way from the sand into the water due to a mass of volunteers who formed a human wall around them.

That wall was imperative to the newborns' survival.

When turtles are born, they crawl towards the brightest light they see, which is usually the moon over the ocean.

Because these turtles were born on a beach next to an airport, conservationists were worried they would crawl towards the buildings and planes. Two years ago, an entire group of newborns were lost when they did exactly that.

Dr. Sue Willis, the program director of Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire, told ABC, "We surround the baby turtles on both sides so that they cannot see the airport lights. We give them ample space to crawl and form a line all the way down to the ocean so they stay on path."

Their efforts succeeded in helping all 113 turtles into the ocean.

Loggerhead turtles have been listed as endangered for decades, mostly because of human activities that are detrimental to their health and habitat. At least in this case, people are the reason these turtles survived.