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Endangered Turtle Who Came To Lay Eggs On Beach Discovers It's Been Turned Into A Runway

Endangered Turtle Who Came To Lay Eggs On Beach Discovers It's Been Turned Into A Runway

Turtles usually return to the same beach they were hatched at to lay their eggs.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

People have been outraged after pictures emerged showing a turtle in the Maldives returning to its usual nesting beach, only to find out the stretch of sand has been turned into a runway.

The picture shows the endangered species laying the eggs on the tarmac anyway because it obviously doesn't really realise the difference because, well, it's a turtle.

Adam Nasym/Twitter

According to the Independent, sea turtles are known for returning to the exact same beach they were hatched at to lay their eggs. So you can imagine dozens more could mimic this one.

A source for the Maafaru Island Council has told the Edition: "Despite the construction of the runway, the frequency with which turtles visit the island for nesting purposes has not decreased."

While it might not have decreased recently, who knows how much damage this will do for future generations.

The Independent says the runway hasn't even finished construction, so there could be more stretches of beach that are snapped up. A hotel and resort are being planned as well, which can only mean bad things for the turtles.

People are pretty defensive about saving turtles and that couldn't be more evident than during a recent episode of Blue Planet Live.

Viewers were mortified after watching a seagull snatch a baby turtle, just moments after the baby reptile had been released onto a beach and was making its way towards the sea.

Presenter Liz Bonnin was talking about our responsibility to protect the tiny turtles when the bird pounced in the background.

Liz, who was on Heron Island in Australia, where the minuscule turtles hatch on the beach, said: "We've watched them come up to the sands of Heron to nest and we've also had the great privilege of watching precious new lives, little hatchlings emerging from nests and making it in the big blue."

She was crouched down beside a conservationist who was holding a bucket containing the turtles so they could be released onto the sand.

"These hatchlings are going to spend at least a hundred years in our oceans if all goes well," she continued. "Surely it's our responsibility to safeguard their futures." Oh, the cruel irony.

Sometimes nature can be so cruel. We have to remember that if the seagull doesn't feast on the turtle, which it's probably been doing for centuries, then what happens to the birds, huh? Did you ever think of the seagulls?

Featured Image Credit: Adam Nasym/Twitter

Topics: Community, Animals