Splash!
Rare Hatchlings Rescued
Jeremy and Jen Van Arkel and their son Kian of Ocean View were having a beach day at Kawa on Hawai‘i island. Kian stumbled upon a rare struggle for survival. Endangered olive ridley turtle hatchlings were trapped among rocks and driftwood and unable to march to the sea.
“Olive ridley sea turtle hatchlings! Our son found one little guy on the beach with no clear path to the ocean. We were then able to find the nest and later found 12 to 15 stuck in large rocks and driftwood and very dehydrated,” said Jeremy on Facebook.
The Van Arkels made a call to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hotline. NOAA referred them to the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo Marine Option Program Sea Turtle Response hotline. Turtle Response Coordinator Jen Sims helped coordinate the response effort.
Jen didn’t recognize the turtles in the photos sent. Hawksbill turtles are the only sea turtles that nest between May and November on the Big Island. A few green sea turtles, which normally nest in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, come ashore between May to August. Jen was stumped.
“When I saw the pictures, I knew they didn’t look right, but I didn’t personally know what they were,” Jen told the Hawaii Tribune-Herald. Jen contacted a local turtle expert.
Lauren Kurpita, former director of the Hawai‘i Island Hawksbill Project, identified
