The launch of the Tour de Turtles—as experienced by Aurora the green turtle
Focused and determined, her body glides through the warm ocean water, drawn by a primeval pull to the remote, black sand beach called Tortuguero—or “place of the turtles.” This is a journey she has made before—time and time again she has completed the long swim back to the place where she was born more than 50 years ago. Her flippers slice through the salty sea, as she recalls a dim memory of the day she hatched on this beach so long ago. Things have improved at Tortuguero since her mother’s time, when turtle hunters roamed the beach at night in search of profitable turtle eggs and meat. Now the beach is protected as a refuge for turtles, but there are still dangers, human and otherwise, whenever a turtle crawls up on land. None of these threats will deter her, however, from completing the ancient cycle of life her kind has been carrying out for a hundred million years.
The sight of land approaching on the horizon stirs something inside her. Maybe it is the sound of the waves crashing on the beach, or the organic smell of the moist black sand, or perhaps it’s a distinct magnetic fingerprint unique to this spot on the Earth, but somehow she knows she is at the same beach where she was born. She has finally completed her long migration, and it is time to nest.
The real work begins as she reaches the shore and hauls her 300 pound frame out of the water in search of a good spot to deposit her eggs. In the water, she moves as gracefully as a bird flapping its wings. Once on land, however, her trek up the steep face of the beach, where she feels the full effects of gravity, is far more cumbersome. She works her way purposefully toward the line of vegetation, feeling her way to a place where the sand becomes softer and dryer. Finally, she finds a spot where the sand yields to her rear flippers as she digs a wide chamber large enough to hold the 100-plus eggs she will drop. The process is slow, but she takes her time—filling the hole completely with her glistening white eggs. Very carefully, she covers the nest with sand and packs it into place. Before leaving the nest, she uses her front flippers to throw sand all about the site. By the time she is done, it is impossible to tell where her egg chamber is located.
She sees that the horizon on the ocean is a little brighter than the woods behind her, and she begins to crawl quickly toward the sea. She moves forward, cautiously trying to discern the scene in front of her. In an instant, she finds herself in the midst of tall, dark shadows. They are not harming her, but they lead her into an enclosed area that blocks her from crawling any further. She barely makes out the sound of voices above her, intermingling with the whoosh of the waves, and she breathes deeply. She is relaxed, but finds herself in an unfamiliar state of limbo.
As the morning light melts into focus, she feels cool water and rubbing on her back. She doesn’t realize it, but the shell on her back is being cleaned and polished, and all the barnacles that have been hitching rides on her back are being removed. Where the unsightly barnacles had clung, the people detaining her place a lightweight transmitter held tight by glue she can’t feel. As her shell scutes grow and fall off, the small device eventually swill slip off as well.
With the sun now fully above the horizon, she hears the sounds of many people coming to look at her as she waits in the confines of her holding box. She can not perceive it, but she is the star attraction, and hundreds of onlookers have come to watch her release back to the sea.
Slowly, the structure containing her begins to creek, as a hidden door opens fully in front of her to reveal a clear path back to the water. It’s a welcome sight, and she wastes no time digging in her flippers and propelling herself toward the refreshing water. She is not used to being on the beach in daylight; she comes out of the water only at night to avoid detection by predators. With the water just 20 feet or so away, she pauses in the sand and catches a clear view of the spectacle around her. Hundreds of humans are lined up on either side of her, clapping and making cheerful noises. But they are keeping their distance and giving her plenty of space to make her way home. She surges across the last distance of sand and makes a final plunge into the cool blue ocean. Full swim ahead!
As she reaches the calm water beyond the breakers, she begins to encounter others of her kind. Her recent experiences on land are forgotten. She is once again at peace in the sea and continues her instinctual ritual of mating and reproduction. She will emerge to nest several more times this season. What she doesn’t realize, however, is that she is now an ambassador for sea turtles everywhere. Named “Aurora” by the children who watched her on land, she now carries on her shell a transmitter that sends signals to orbiting satellites—keeping track of her as she carries on with her life. The information collected from observing Aurora will help the people who are trying to protect sea turtles. Aurora, the Tortuguero green turtle, also is one of the participants in this year’s Tour de Turtles – an online event that tracks the migrations of eleven different sea turtles as they navigate from their nesting beaches to unknown feeding grounds. With the transmitter on her shell, scientists will be able to follow Aurora and all the swimmers as they watch to see which turtles can complete a sea turtle marathon.
View Aurora's Migration Map
Watch Aurora's release Video 
