Loggerhead hatchling

One of the absolute highlights of my time in KZN was a night spent on the beach at Bhanga Nek looking for turtles. The research programme there is the longest running in the world and is a magnificent example of collaboration between science and local communities. We were privileged to see a number of loggerhead females laying eggs and returning to the ocean but the greatest thrill was to watch a number of these tiny hatchlings dig themselves out of their underground nests and make their way slowly but relentlessly across the sand and into the water for the very first time. With only a five percent survival rate this little ones trials had only just begun.