SAVE THE TESTS – The Seeker Newsmagazine Cornwall

Cayo Largo, Cuba, is a magical place. However, while tourists enjoy the resort’s generous offerings, locals struggle.

Cayo Largo’s beaches are home to several species of turtles: the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), and the green turtle (Chelonia mydas).

The local turtle rescue center is home to hundreds of them, in addition to five albino turtles. Albino turtles are extremely rare and need special care. There are only an estimated 100,000 worldwide and the 5 on Cayo Largo are the only ones in captivity. At least, that’s what I gathered from the Spanish conversation I had with the worker.

So in a place where basic needs are scarce for humans, it’s no wonder the turtle sanctuary, which is supposed to be a safe haven for these incredible creatures, doesn’t have the money or resources it urgently needs.

At the moment, only three dedicated and poorly paid workers look after the sanctuary. These wonderful people work around the clock doing everything they can to keep both the eggs and the turtles safe and healthy. They work in blocks of 20 days each, taking full responsibility for caring for eggs, babies and adult turtles weighing up to 20 kilograms. Every day from April to September, they go to the beach and collect eggs that they bring to the refuge and bury in the sand, away from predators. Once the eggs hatch, the babies are transferred to a tank where they will remain until they are big enough to be released into the ocean.

But the sanctuary doesn’t have the right tools to track, measure or even safely handle the turtles they so desperately want to protect; this lack of resources puts the turtles at risk. Weighings are done by placing the turtle in a Walmart bag while the worker holds a heavy-duty portable scale. They have no way to properly identify each turtle, making it difficult to properly track their progress. No microchips, no tags, not even paint.

One of the biggest problems they face is with the water pumps. These pumps are supposed to fill tanks quickly, but they are old and slow, leaving turtles in dirty water or out of water for too long.

The sanctuary struggles to provide enough of everything for the turtles.

I was so moved by the dedication of the workers and the turtle’s plight that I started a GiveSendGo campaign. Although we cannot send money to the sanctuary, we can certainly send them the things they need. Imagine what we could do if we all threw in a little! If you are interested in helping, please contact me. Together, we can make a huge difference to these turtles and ensure they have a safe and healthy future.

We cannot let the hard work of these dedicated workers go to waste. The future of these endangered albino turtles depends on us. Let’s come together and support the Cayo Largo Turtle Sanctuary. By doing this, we’re not just helping turtles, we’re taking a stand for conservation and showing that we care about the future of our planet’s incredible wildlife.

https://www.givesendgo.com/savetheturtles