This is a lovely beast, and I can confirm that it made it to the sea, but that’s only the beginning of its troubles. Baby sea turtles are the buffet of the sea, and until they get big enough to resist predators they have a precarious life. I almost wish this one had been taken into captivity and kept permanently or at least until it was larger. Its lack of coloration makes it an easy target, and its unpigmented eyes mean that it probably can’t see to well, either.
It is adorable, though.
We're rooting for Alby the rare albino sea turtle hatchling found in Queensland, Australia! https://t.co/JRcc9oheJq pic.twitter.com/28xlwGoayf
— Science Channel (@ScienceChannel) February 10, 2016
I am not sure that it has much more disadvantage than the thousands of other baby sea turtles out there. They all stand out to predators.
“You won’t believe this albino sea turtle!”
Why, what did it say?
😉
Awwww poor pinky.
Meanwhile, God watches with folded arms.
Just when you thought baby sea turtles couldn’t get any more adorable…!
I’ll be surprised if it survives, personally i would have taken it into captivity, but then again we aren’t supposed to interfere, but sometimes I think you should.
I was going to suggest that the different color might actually protect it from predators until I saw how well that worked out for the moose.