What if Turtles Could Speak?
hive-123046·@trifecta-tt·
0.000 HBDWhat if Turtles Could Speak?
It's turtle nesting season. And in the wee hours of the morning, a leatherback turtle trundles laboriously to shore.  [Image source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dermochelys_coriacea_Leatherback_Turtle_returning_to_the_sea_after_laying_-_panoramio.jpg) It's been 25 years since she's been to sea, but now that she must give birth, she returns to the place where she first opened her eyes to this Earth, to the land where she first danced with the waves. It's the wee hours of the morning, and this place is the first place she ever felt safe. She never knew her mother. And her children will likely never see her. But the sand on this land is built from the crushed shells that held her soul and the soul of her mother before her. It's this sand that first protected her before the sun kissed her and she began her first race, the sea reaching out and scooping her up with skirts of lace, its waves dashing to shore to save her from a would be predator.  [Image source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Look_ma,_I_can_fly!_(183138247).jpg) On this land, she feels a sense of beginning, of familiarity, and so, after travelling for miles, she creeps up on the sand slowly. It's almost time, she moves forward painfully, yearning to find sanctuary, it's a pity that she'd find none here. There's a stranger lurking in the dark, a man. To him, nature is his to command. He's determined that this is turtle watching season and she is fair game. In his world, she knows she has no claim to privacy. And so, she settles in the sand slowly, and prepares to lay her eggs while shoes crunch around her noisily. Tears leak from her eyes, but he dismisses them. *Turtles don't cry*, he asserts, for now he has labeled himself an expert on how turtles feel. And as she gives birth, he saunters, poking, peering, prodding, measuring her girth. He is eager to capture this moment on camera. To him, this is just another frame, a picture, a video, a meme for social media. He wants to go viral, to win another view, another like, another follower. He would give his soul to be an influencer. And so, like Judas Iscariot, he sells her for far less than she is worth. Propping feet up on leather skin, [he sits](https://meaww.com/cruel-locals-ride-endangered-sea-turtle-desperate-crawls-sea-leather-back-animal-abuse-indonesia) Extends the length of his camera stick, Grins, clicks, and says cheese. The turtle is silent, forbearing. But I'd wager, my friends, if she could speak, she'd probably say, *would you get off my back, please*? ********* Hello friends, In my country, leatherback turtles are coming to shore again to lay their eggs. Previously, before the COVID 19 pandemic, there was concern around the world about how tourism had intruded on this private and sacred moment and the damage that it had inflicted on the leatherback turtles as thoughtless tourists visited turtle nesting beaches and sometimes sat on the backs of the turtles just so that they could capture the moment for social media. Leatherback turtles are today one of the most endangered sea turtle species on Earth, and my country is considered one of the largest turtle nesting sites in the world. So, as lockdown restrictions are lifted, as beaches are reopened, as we return to our normal lives, and with turtles coming to shore to lay eggs at this time of year, I felt that this would be an apt opportunity to bring awareness to this issue. I was very happy to find this community and to make this submission. I trust that it is apt.