A FAMILY of good Samaritans helped baby turtles find their way to the ocean on Tuesday, June 17.
According to Kyuwi Lisua, an incoming seventh grader at Dandan Middle School, she and her family were camping on a beach somewhere on island when dozens of newly hatched turtles began scuttling around their campsite. Lisua had been asleep in her tent, but when it became too hot around 4 a.m., she stepped outside — and that’s when she noticed the turtles.
“When I woke up, the turtles were walking at our feet,” Lisua told Variety, adding that the hatchlings were attracted to the solar lights her family had strung around the campsite. “I thought it was so cool because I’ve never seen baby turtles before.”
The middle schooler and her cousins gathered the turtles into plastic containers, and an older relative notified the Division of Fish and Wildlife. Later that morning, DFW enforcement officers arrived and supervised as the family released the hatchlings into the ocean.
Lisua said she wished she could keep the baby turtles because she “wanted to take care of them.” However, she knew the right thing to do was release them into the ocean because “that’s their natural home.”
According to Endangered Species Program Manager Carey Demapan, the public is generally encouraged not to approach or interact with sea turtles but to watch from a distance of at least three meters.
However, in this specific case — where the turtles approached a family campsite — she said it was appropriate to redirect the hatchlings toward the ocean. She also advises campers to avoid using white lights at the beach at night, when possible.
“If you see sea turtles on land, we encourage the public to report these sightings to our social media pages or hotline number,” Demapan said. “This is valuable data that allows our program to track populations over time — something we’ve been doing since 2003. Our presence on beaches also helps deter illegal activities, such as illegal harvesting.”
For more information, call the CNMI Sea Turtle Program at (670) 287-8537 or go to its Facebook page.
Aschuupi Lisua of San Vicente Elementary School, Ezekiel Taman of Kagman Elementary School, Riri Lisua of Oleai Elementary School, and Kyuwi Lisua of Dandan Middle School pose for a photo outside the tent where dozens of baby turtles were seen scuttling across their campsite.
Dozens of baby turtles were assisted to the beach by a local family on Tuesday, June 17.
One of the baby turtles
