GRAND CAYMAN

1. GRAND CAYMAN GREEN SEA TURTLE RESCUED ON 7 MILE BEACH 11/1/07

2. TURTLE WAS FOUND LYING IN A HUMAN FOOTPRINT ON THE BEACH – APPARENTLY DEAD

3. Surprise! The turtle wasn’t dead – just tired from fighting the rough surf kicked up by Hurricane Noel. We named him Ernie. Here he is relaxing in a bowl of water while we call Turtle Rescue to get instructions on how to release an endangered sea turtle.

4. Here’s Ernie awaiting release. Turtle Rescue said to put him in a bucket of sand covered with a towel until nightfall. Then release him on a dark section of beach. No flashlights or camera flash allowed as the light would cause Ernie to become confused.

5. The markings on this post indicate a turtle nest is located here in a Marine Park on 7 mile beach. Ernie was released here at night. Hope he made it!

6. At a condo down the beach, the gardener protected another turtle nest by drawing in the sand every morning so people would not interfere with the nest. This says baby turtles are scheduled to hatch at 7:30 AM on Wednesday morning.

7. Turtle Rescue employees arrived to see if baby turtles have hatched. The depth of this nest – approx 3 feet – indicates Mom weighed between 300 and 400 pounds.

8. Success! The turtle eggs have hatched. There were hundreds of baby turtles in the nest.

9. The representative from Cayman Turtle Rescue gave an interesting lesson on sea turtles.

10. Baby Sea Turtles were placed back in the nest to be released under cover of darkness.

11. After sunset, Turtle Rescue officials removed the baby turtles from the nest and placed them on the sand. They headed out to sea. Good luck guys!