Happy as Larry

Larry’s story is preceded by many events that have ended with a mixture of outcomes. While Pez Maya are able to monitor turtles that are laid and born on their beaches, Punta Gruesa is faced with a later part of their journey which unfortunately marks the fragility of life for juvenile turtles. The sandy beaches in the Northern Yucatan provide the ideal nesting site for many species of turtle, and when the young hatch, they make their way down the coast to find food and continue on their journey to adulthood. Punta Gruesa over the past two months has become a resting place for the young that are either blown off course, or choose to take refuge in the lagoon behind the reef. Many of these are found by EM’s, or less fortunately by the dogs or birds, as they struggle in the shallows. Reports of several juveniles found along our stretch of beach have been flooding in, unfortunately with only two happy.

After a string of sad endings for the juveniles, Larry was discovered struggling to keep his head above water on the tide line, eyes closed and little movement left in him. To avoid leaving him to the same fate as many before him, he was relocated to the warmth of the staff bathroom in a tub with sand and water, supposed to live out his last few hours. He seemed weak and feeble, and the worst was feared. The next day, he was checked to see if he had gone in the night, but he was still alive, still with little enthusiasm for anything.

This was repeated for three days, until finally he was gently stroked, as he was every day, to assess his condition. There was little hope for any recovery, more so each day he was denied food, but on this occasion he began to wriggle and squirm like a new born! So the decision was taken to try his luck in the water, and he was instantly taken down to the seagrass bed to see what happened. To our amazement, Larry swam off against the current like a pro, instantly feeding and splashing around as if nothing had happened! We can only imagine that he had gotten exhausted and cold, and the rest had given him the time to recoup and continue on his way, happy as Larry! A very happy story for all involved.

Happy as Larry