Destruction everywhere!

IT seems wherever there are humans, the wildlife or sealife are threatened. I was visiting Bish at Random Thoughts and found out about another atrocious act done in the name of... what? Fun? Sport? Ugh! Enough already. Please check out the link below if you are as disgusted as I am by the senseless killing of this endangered species.

Hawksbill Sea turtle photographed (by me) in St. Augustine, Florida 

Starting on December 1st and going through March 31st, the British Virgin Islands permits a hunting season of Sea Turtles. We aren't talking about deer or rabbits here, people are legally allowed to harvest Hawksbill and Green Sea Turtles, both endangered animals. While there is a size limit (Hawksbill turtles must be 15+inches carapace length and Green turtles 24 +inches carapace length) these sizes mean they are still quite young as Sea Turtles go. And to top it off, Sea Turtles do not reproduce quickly. Only 1 or 2 of 1,000 hatchlings will grow to adulthood because as Crush (Finding Nemo) explains it, "The little dudes are just eggs, we leave 'em on a beach to hatch, and then, coo-coo-cachoo, they find their way back to the big ol' blue." At least some of them do. But it takes 10-20 years before a turtle can even lay eggs.

(There is a moratorium on loggerhead turtles, leatherback turtles, & all sea turtle eggs.)


Anyway, I signed a petition to Ralph T. O'Neal, Premier of the British Virgin Islands, which says:
""Stop the legal harvesting of endangered sea turtles in the British Virgin Islands""
Will you sign this petition? Click here. And you can learn more at On-StJohn.com

Intution

Following a voice that speaks to her more deeply than any god, the lumbering female slips onto the beach long after the beach combers have packed up their towels, picnics and sand trowels and headed home for dinner. She sniffles around for some moments, nauseated perhaps by the remnant of the days activities, in search of an unsoiled spot. Finally satisfied she settles in and digs, hind flippers a flappin', a deep enough hole to provide a sandy womb for her centaplets (100+). After some time her quiet labor is finished and she blankets her unborn in their sandy nest. She pats it smooth until it is nearly invisible to the untutored eye, gazes down and gives a final silent farewell. She turns back to her watery home as the voice from within assures her that the unborn will hatch, waddle to the water and follow her and the other sea turtles out into the deep where they will rollick and roll on the waves, swim among the jellyfish and graze on sea grass. The sea turtle lives on...  

 

for today