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TURTLE HEART
a Revolution for the Oceans
Articles
by Wallace J. Nichols, PhD
Photo: Oceana
O
Pacific coast of the Baja California
peninsula, we gathered over a large
loggerhead turtle. Martin Arce,
a Santa Rosaliita fisherman, his
daughter Adelita at his side. Other
fishermen, scientists and volunteers
you are as excited about this as we
are?”
At night I couldn’t sleep. Lying
awake thinking about Adelita. Pray-
ing for her safety. Wondering what
was beneath her and above her. Was
she hungry? How did it feel to be
surrounded the work site.
going home after so many years?
The fiberglass resin we need to
Checking my email for her latest
attach the satellite transmitter to the
position. Hoping there would be one.
turtle’s shell dried slowly. The sun
“Do you ever find yourself thinking
was shining but the air was cool. And
of her in the middle of the night?” I
the wind. The wind howled off the
asked myself in the form of a ques-
Pacific!
tion to the online tracking list.
From the skiff, 5 kilometers from
Barbara Garrison, a San Diego
the coast, we lowered the turtle to the
teacher replied with the poem
ocean. She tasted the salt through her
nostrils, stroked her long flippers and “ADELITA SLEEPS”:
bolted through the blue. Hesitation
at 20 meters then a steep descent into Sister of mercy adrift in the
the deep. World; Her carapace around her
We named the turtle “Adelita.” like a habit following the liturgy
Simultaneously the name of a little Of longitude like the Stations
girl and a hero of the Mexican Revo- of the Cross
lution. The drawstring of dream
For 368 days Adelita swam west. Gathering with each dive;
Daily, the small box on her back A sea shadow cradled in the
revealed her location to us via geosta- Arms of the great Turtle Mother
tionary satellites and a link to the base
station in France. We studied the data Nicholas from Cincinnati wrote:
and uploaded it to the Internet, for all “Remember me? I don’t really have
the world to see. any questions, I just want to thank
Oblivious to the millions of eyes you for coming here and working
on her, Adelita stroked on. Through with us. It was a lot of fun and very
the deepest, wildest, humanless exciting. We are very excited about
expanse of our planet. Alone. Yet not Adelita crossing the International
alone at all. Date Line and we’re having a party
One student wrote: “Hi J., this is soon.”
Meghan and I was just wondering if
Articles
I wrote back: “Brie, I’m not really
At some point Adelita crossed the sure. If she comes on the beach to
International Date Line, roughly the nest, there’s a chance that we could
half way point, and we became more find her and get the tag back. Perhaps
confident that she was bound for her we could re-tag her (if we have the
natal Japan. That she was seeking the money and a tag). Got any ideas?
beach where she was born, decades She may swim around near the nest-
before. ing beach for a while before she actu-
ally lays eggs. She will need to mate
Cartographer. Explorer. with a male loggerhead.”
World traveler. Adelita sleeps. Yukki from Japan, wrote: “I didn’t
know that turtles born in Japan are
swimming around the Pacific…”
EIGHT YEARS HAVE PASSED fiesta. By day, stories and data are
E
since the Grupo Tortugero first gath-
Articles
they link the nascent recovery to the
same newfound spirit that guides their
fishing - take what you need, protect
what should be protected, self-enforce
within the community, and teach the
children as well.
Photo: www.earthresource.org
In every part of the world, School children lined up and made this
sea turtles formation to share a powerful message on
a southern California beach. The Ocean is
are considered Life. No animal symbolizes that better than a
threatened or endangered. sea turtle.
grupo tortuGuero
SEA TURTLE CONSERVATION NETWORK
Suggested Reading:
Chelonia: Return of the Sea Turtle
Written by Wallace J. Nichols
Illustrated by Dawn Navarro
This children’s book, based on a true event,
tells of a rescue, recovery and eventual return
to the wild of a green sea turtle. Beautifully
illustrated, entertaining and informative.
Each English-language book purchased
through Pro Peninsula allows the donation
of one Spanish-language copy to a classroom
in a Baja California community. To order your
copy or to get more information on “Chelonia,”
visit www.propeninsula.org
www.oceanrevolution.org
An international program developed to connect, inspire and empower a new wave of your leaders
to find creative solutions to protect our oceans.
www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp
Your seafood choices make a difference! Seafood Guides to help you
make choices that are good for you and good for sea turtles.
Articles
Photo: Terri Garland
Researcher Louise Brooks releasing a loggerhead sea turtle in Baja, as part of the Grupo
Tortuguero’s ongoing monitoring project.