322 animal species have gone extinct in the past 500 years all because of humans. Now, it’s actually estimated that the extinction rate of other animals is going faster because of us. The most recent proof of this happened when one endangered turtle crawled up ashore to lay eggs on the beach, only to find out that its nest got turned into an airstrip runway.
A photo of an endangered turtle in the Maldives has started going viral after people were heartbroken by what happened to the animal. It showed a photo of a sea turtle mother who was forced to lay eggs on a runway after its usual nest was demolished for an airstrip. Here’s the photo:
Maafaru Airport pic.twitter.com/SprjDEDbj5
— adam nasym (@naibuthuthu) April 9, 2019
Sea turtles are known to be endangered. What’s even more heartbreaking than that is the fact that most of them actually return to the spot from where they were born just to lay their eggs there, starting a new cycle of life. Now, however, the said endangered turtle mother can no longer hatch a new generation of sea turtles because of the said airstrip on the Maldives.
The same sad fact can be said for any other endangered turtle mother returning to the said island to lay eggs. Still, the Maafaru Island Council in the Maldives insisted that the airstrip did not affect the number of turtles going in and out of the island.
“Despite the construction of the runway, the frequency with which turtles visit the island for nesting purposes has not decreased,” according to the island council.
Regardless, it is unknown how many of the sea turtles actually failed to lay their eggs because of the airstrip, meaning their numbers could very well decrease over time and future endangered turtle generations might have died before they were even given a chance to live.
Apparently, the airstrip in question is not even finished yet, meaning it could potentially become more of a hindrance to sea turtles in the near future.
The irony here is that the Maldives islands are known hot spots for tourists and newlyweds out on a honeymoon or a romantic getaway. It just so happens that mass tourism can actually kill a habitat. Is it really worth having a momentary vacation bliss over the lives of an endangered turtle species? Or any other species for that matter?
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