Cabretta’s Story

This is the story of Cabretta.

One cold rainy night, a faint noise came from the sand as little turtles started to hatch.

“Crack Crack Crack” came the sound of everyone coming out of their eggs. When I started to hear this noise coming from all around, I, too, wanted to get out. Slowly, I cracked my own egg hoping I could go, too. My siblings started making their way out of the sand to the surface. I knew I had to get out, so I started to crack my egg faster. Finally, I got out but soon realized I had missed the big charge for the surface. Most of the others had already made their way up out of the nest and towards the sea. I started to cry. I looked around at the darkness that surrounded me. I soon noticed that one of my flippers was not working like the others. I could barely move my right flipper. I tried and tried to move it and make my way out of the nest on my own, but I couldn’t.

Days later…

I am sooo hungry. I wish I made it up like the others. I wish there was a way for me to still get out. Just as I thought this, I heard something starting to dig through the sand above me. Oh no, I thought something could try to eat me, something like a hungry raccoon or ghost crab! But then I heard another noise…

“Here it is! I found the nest!” said someone who sounded like a young girl. I was very scared. Would she try to hurt me, too? “I hope we find some stragglers,” said another who seemed to be older than the first. Soon, the bright sunlight met my eyes and four curious faces stared down at me. They had dug out my nest and now one was picking me up! I tried to escape, but there was no use. I wasn’t going anywhere.

The older girl stared at me and said, “I know what its name should be…Cabretta!” The other girl responded, “Yes, Cabretta is the perfect name! It will be named after this very beach. Look at how cute it is!”

Then a man, who the girls called “Mr. Mark,” looked me over and said, “Let’s brush it off and release it!” He started walking towards the ocean and placed me down on the sand. I started to move my flippers, but I was having a hard time crawling because of my bad flipper. I was moved closer to the water. Once the water washed over me, I felt so good. I felt like I had found my home. They saved me! It was a miracle! As I swam into the deep blue sea, I heard the girls cheering me on and I knew I would never forget them.

The End!

This may be sound like a silly story, but much of it is true. A straggler turtle I and my sister named “Cabretta” was found during a recent nest inventory on July 27th on Cabretta Beach on Sapelo Island! Cabretta was a loggerhead sea turtle who was stuck in the nest. Its right flipper was deformed and not working properly. With the guidance of sea turtle biologist Mark Dodd, we were able to rescue the hatchling and help it make its way to the ocean. We love you Cabretta!