Rare albino turtle spotted struggling on Australian beach
- 3 years ago
The lone reptile hatchling was recently spotted on the shores of Lady Elliot Island, which punctuates the southern end of the Great Barrier reef in the Coral Sea of Australia. An estimated one out of every 100,000 turtle hatchlings are albino, yet only one in every 1,000 newborns of all kinds are expected to survive into adulthood, conservationists said in an Instagram post accompanying a clip of the turtle.
“These little guys, they struggle to get out of the nest, and if they do they’re not well-suited to the environment,” said Jim Buck, Lady Elliot Island’s ecosystem management officer.
“Unfortunately, the success rate of this little one is also further reduced due to low sight and the inability to camouflage,” he told. “We can see the animal quite easily, so I’m sure predators would have the same advantage.”
Green sea turtles, like the translucent tyke in question, are under threat globally, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, which have deemed them an endangered species since 1982.
However, Lady Elliot Island researchers have recently estimated a 3% to 4% increase in their Southern Great Barrier Reef green turtle population.
“These little guys, they struggle to get out of the nest, and if they do they’re not well-suited to the environment,” said Jim Buck, Lady Elliot Island’s ecosystem management officer.
“Unfortunately, the success rate of this little one is also further reduced due to low sight and the inability to camouflage,” he told. “We can see the animal quite easily, so I’m sure predators would have the same advantage.”
Green sea turtles, like the translucent tyke in question, are under threat globally, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, which have deemed them an endangered species since 1982.
However, Lady Elliot Island researchers have recently estimated a 3% to 4% increase in their Southern Great Barrier Reef green turtle population.