An endangered leatherback turtle tried to nest on an Ecuador sidewalk before finding a quieter beach

Detailed summary

Bella, a resilient leatherback turtle, made a remarkable nesting attempt in Ecuador, overcoming an array of challenges posed by artificial lighting. Her successful hatchling rates…

In January, under the light of a full moon and one too many streetlights, a critically endangered leatherback turtle named Bella did something both remarkable and worrying: she tried to nest on a sidewalk in Ecuador.Disoriented by nearby streetlights, the enormous female crawled over a rock breakwater and left the beach behind. She failed to lay her eggs there and returned to the ocean, still carrying them. Two nights later, she tried again, this time on a quieter stretch of sand at Playa de Crucita. There, she dug a nest, deposited 47 eggs, covered them carefully, and returned to the sea.A few weeks later, 44 hatchlings emerged and made their way toward the surf.

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