Hawksbill sea turtle

Description:

A critically endangered species in the Cheloniidae family. The hawksbill can be distinguished from other species by it's sharp curved beak (hence the name) and saw-like appearance of the shell margins.

Habitat:

Beach in the north of Qatar.

Notes:

Because of the critical status of the Hawksbill, the nests of these little hatchlings had been carefully re-located into a fenced in area (away from the most busy location of the beach). In addition to re-locating the nests, dedicated volunteer turtle rangers give the hatchlings a helping hand on that critical (and risky) first journey from nest to sea. They make sure to interfere as little as possible, but do perform a controlled release to avoid the little ones venturing out across the sand unsupervised - and thus unprotected from predation by feral dogs and other natural or introduced predators. This type of controlled turtle release is controversial as some would say that you shouldn't interfere with nature, however, this is a critically endangered species that needs all the help it can get to aid the populations recovering.