The unexpected birth of the turtles among the bathers: everything they haven't told you

The caretta caretta turtle also unexpectedly lands on the coasts of the island of Elba. Over 100 small specimens suddenly appeared among the swimmers, literally emerging from the sand and making the slalom between the towels to reach the sea

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

The caretta caretta turtle also unexpectedly lands on the coasts of the island of Elba. Over 100 small specimens suddenly appeared among the swimmers, literally emerging from the sand and making the slalom between the towels to reach the sea.

A show attended by the swimmers of Straccoligno beach on Saturday. There, in broad daylight, dozens of sea turtles were born to the delight of children, incredulous in front of that unexpected spectacle.

How did this happen?

This is an exceptional event, first of all because the Caretta Caretta does not often nest on Tuscan beaches. There are two sites so far known in the region: the beach of Scarlino where they were spotted on October 3, 2013 and that of Marina di Campo, also on the Island of Elba where exactly 17 were born exactly one year ago, on August 2017, 103. specimens.

A story that repeats itself but that this time excites and surprises also for the way in which it occurred. The tenacious Caretta caretta turtle, renamed Genoa by Legambiente volunteers in honor of the city wounded by the collapse of the bridge, laid its eggs in Straccoligno, in an "anomalous" place: the animal nested on a beach characterized by conditions that were quite different. than optimal, with an almost compact sand and many stones, a few meters from the sea and next to a path also crossed by motorized vehicles.

A breathtaking sight. Mother turtle had laid her eggs in a small and invisible chasm in the sand, not with the classic funnel shape, but in an opening in the hard sand, with a small wall bordering the small excavation.

From there, in the late afternoon of Saturday, a cheerful procession of turtles slowly appeared among the towels, in front of the amazed gazes of the bathers. Nobody dared to touch them, too excited by their appearance. The little turtles found the sea after a few steps.

A very different story from the one that happened a few months ago in Cilento, where aanother Caretta caretta had had to do the slalom among the swimmers to lay eggs. In Elba, however, the presence of small specimens was completely unexpected and the nest was practically invisible.

Here is the video of the biologist Letizia Marsili of the University of Siena who was there:

The little turtle infiltrated the wedding

At around 19 pm in the valley an excavation was noticed that kept swimmers in suspense. A new birth was expected, but a parasitic vesoa emerged from the excavation, suggesting that there were no more turtles

That was not the case, with a nice romantic ending. In the hole there was still a little turtle that came out at midnight and headed for the sea not before having peeped at the wedding that was taking place:

“When they told me that while we were exchanging our promises in front of the sea, at least 100 small Caretta Caretta turtles hatched on our beach, I thanked this wonderful nature for giving me this precious gift on my most beautiful day. They had made their lair in the stretch of free beach next to ours and went out passing over the towels of the people hanging out. To everyone's amazement and amazement they headed to the sea, they were not disturbed by anyone on their way, everyone wanted to protect them to get them to the water. Nature was taking its course. A few hours later a little girl, lost because she was attracted by the lights of our refreshments, ended up right in my hands. She had come to wish us well, it was new life that I accompanied in my sea to make it grow. With my beautiful wedding dress, the turtle in my hands I entered the water. I caressed it before putting it down 'Good life, little one, make your way and come back to this beach when you grow up to lay your eggs' " wrote on his Facebook profile the bride, Chiara Audenino. “I was moved by this miracle I was experiencing”.

The most beautiful visit for spouses and bathers on the Island of Elba.

READ also:

• Caretta caretta, the sea turtle returns to lay its eggs in Lampedusa
• The extraordinary volunteers who will save the nests of the Caretta Caretta turtles
• Caretta caretta: the exciting hatching of turtle eggs in Tuscany (PHOTO AND VIDEO)

Francesca Mancuso