Bandit the Dog Helps Save Baby Sea Turtle

Last Thursday morning Bandit the dog was going for his usual morning walk when he smelled something in the air and ran over to investigate. What he found  was a lone hatch-ling turtle. Its a good thing Bandit the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel ran over to investigate because it turns out the newborn turtle was going in the opposite direction of the ocean and would have died if it were not found. When Bandits owner was able to catch up with him, Bandit showed his owner the hatchling sea turtle moving west and away from the ocean where it should have been heading. In Florida, all five of the sea turtle species that nest on the beaches are either endangered or threatened, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Special program have been put in place to try limit artificial lights during the middle of the night on some stretches of Florida beaches in order tohelp the hatch-lings find their way to the ocean. The problem is that the artificial city lights are brighter then the moon and lure the turtles away from the ocean and to their death.

Bandit whose owner received special permission to bring him on the beach accompanied the beach ranger who picked up the turtle and carried it to the ocean the newborn was released. Bandit even barked out a speech to the newborn turtle as it swam away from shore. This is not the first time that Bandit has helped baby turtles. On one walk he found a whole nest of newborn turtles, so his owner called the beach rangers who cordoned off the area so that the turtles could safely make it to the water. I wonder if small dogs could be trained to sniff out hatchling turtles and taken out on the beaches early in the morning during hatching season to help ensure more babies make it to the ocean. Not that making it to the ocean ensures survival to maturity but getting to the ocean for these tiny babies is big step in giving turtles the best chance to survive.