97 endangered sea turtles hatch on Brazil’s deserted beaches during Covid-19 lockdown

NINETY-SEVEN endangered sea turtles have recently hatched on the deserted Janga Beach of Paulista in the Pernambuco state of Brazil, during the country’s partial lockdown. According to Brazil’s Tamar Conservation Project, and the WWF, the tartarugas-de-pente – better known as the hawksbill sea turtles in English – are considered to be a ‘critically’ endangered species.

Thanks to Brazil’s partial lockdown, resulting in deserted beaches, they got to make their journey to the sea much easier than usual without human interaction, apart from a few wildlife officials from the Tamar Conservation Project team.

The hawksbill sea turtles are only about five centimetres (two inches) long when they hatch, but they can grow to up to 0.8 metres (2.5 feet) long if they survive the treacherous first few years of their lives.

The endangered species lives in tropical waters around the globe from the coasts of Texas and South Florida down to Brazil, according to the US National Wildlife Foundation.