65 Million Year Old Dinosaurs
I have a memory, very vague,
of my parents taking my siblings and myself on a road trip --
through dark winding roads in the middle of the night to a beach on the North East coast to look at 65 million year old dinosaurs.
Alongside my brother, we stood there.
Sand covered toes, my little tummy upset from the drive, we watched in amazement these magnificent mammals emerging from the dark vastness onto the sand.
Using their back fins to dig deep holes to lay their eggs they fall into a trance.
Afterwards,
they camouflage their nesting grounds with a wander-about dance.
For a kid,
it was an unbelievable sight and experience.....
it was an unbelievable sight and experience.....
and now as an adult,
it still takes my breath away.
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These majestic dinosaur mammals are Leatheback Turtles.
Unfortunately due to poachers and non-protected beaches,
they have become endangered.
In a clutch of offspings, maybe one will survive.
Survive being pried out of their shell by vultures,
survive being eaten by crabs,
dug up by dogs,
stolen by humans.
And even at sea,
predators lurk,
fishing nets,
frigatebirds.
They travel millions and millions of miles all over the world,
but they always return
to this little island tucked away in the Lesser Antilles,
where they were nested,
perhaps even,
to this beach,
or another nearby,
but
they never forget where they came from.
How heartfelt is that?
15 comments
I loved the post and the photos!
ReplyDeleteHave an awesome day!
xx, Kris
https://dreamingofpink.wordpress.com
What a beautiful creature! I've never seen them for myself but I'm going on a road trip later this year and might have to make a stop. Your photos are stunning by the way!
ReplyDeleteThey are such wonderful creatures. The photos are beautiful, thank you for raising awareness for them 💚
ReplyDeletebeautiful poem and I love the photos that go with it. I used to write poetry myself and I never thought to add photos. Awesome job.
ReplyDeleteso cool, and those photos are gorgeous!
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ReplyDeleteBEAUTIFUL pictures! I love the turtle one the best, great post! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful photos! Wow! :D I like them a lot! :)
ReplyDeleteWOW....truly amazing! Your photos are incredible too! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteIve never seen or heard of these turtles. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI love turtles. I remember there was a 125 year old turtle at the zoo in Santa Barbara that we used to visit. Great post, your pictures are so vivid, almost felt like I was there.
ReplyDeleteYour pictures are beautiful! And thank you for this heartfelt post about the endangered turtles! I wish we stop taking nature for granted and stop being so mean towards it 😖
ReplyDeleteI love that turtles never forget where they came from. It is what makes them so amazing.
ReplyDeleteLovely shots and share on the turtles. My daughter was profoundly affected when she learnt that even throwing fruit waste can endanger animals and humans too (since bears and wolves start associating the human smell with food).
ReplyDeleteBeautiful poem and Turtles are so amazing! I especially loved your sunset pictures & close ups of the Turtles.
ReplyDeleteSo happy that you stopped by and took the time to show some love ♥