An Unexpected Rescue on a Shark Tagging Trip

A few days ago, I was out on the water on a shark tagging expedition with the amazing Ilili team here in Honduras. The day was filled with the usual excitement of marine research until we took a break for lunch on a small, remote island. It was during this quiet moment that our day took a very unexpected turn.

As we were eating, a small local girl came over to our group. She seemed eager to show us something special—what we quickly realized were baby sea turtles. She said she had more, and to our surprise, she led us to a small, makeshift well just a short walk from the ocean. Inside were several more tiny turtles.

We were puzzled. The instinct for newly hatched turtles is incredibly strong; they naturally move toward the bright horizon of the ocean. Why would they be in a well, filled with what was mostly fresh water, when the sea was just a few feet away? While it's possible they somehow wandered in, we theorized that she might have been keeping them as pets.

The Ilili team sprang into action. We carefully retrieved each turtle from the well and immediately took them to the nearby beach. We handled them with the utmost care, making sure our touch was brief and gentle. While we're not 100% certain, we believe these were hawksbill turtles, an endangered species.

The young girl watched as we placed the little creatures on the sand. We tried to explain to her that the turtles needed to be in the ocean if they were to survive. As they instinctively began their journey toward the waves, she followed them into the water.

There was no blame in our hearts for the young girl or her family. It reminded me of my own childhood, when I kept wild lizards as pets simply because I didn't know any better. On these remote islands in Honduras, the average islander has very limited access to education and information about conservation. Without that awareness, it's easy to misunderstand the needs of these animals.

Our encounter was a powerful reminder that conservation is about more than just science and research—it’s also about education and empathy. While our day began with tagging sharks, it ended with a small but important act of rescue and, hopefully, the start of a new understanding for a young girl and her family.