A big turtle was caught in one of the remote areas in Lagos State and a drama ensued over moves by a kindhearted Nigerian to save it.
The turtle in question
It was a mild drama on Sunday, the 11th December as a marine turtle was caught by the local fishermen at the ‘Point Of No Return’, a popular tourist attraction beach in Badagry, Lagos.
The turtle was then sold to female handlers who loaded it onto a motorcycle for onward transportation to a fish market in the town and have it sold for consumption.
Seeing how much this beautiful Olive Ridley turtle “meat” (as it’s been referred to by the locals) had suffered in the hands of the handlers and subsequently sold as delicacy.
Metropol Express publisher, Segun Adebiyi who was at the scene of the event pleaded that the reptile be released to its natural habitat, Adebiyi explained the need to preserve these special creatures to prevent their extinction. After much negotiation pleading and bargaining, Adebiyi paid N25,000 to have the creature returned to the ocean.
But the fishermen insisted in catching the turtle again immediately after it’s released to the ocean it had been brought. This would have defeated the sole purpose of buying the animal.
Realizing the fishermen were not ready to shift ground, the turtle had to be transported in a car to another nearby Sultan beach, there another drama erupted as the beach boys and the community boys prevented Adebiyi and his team from releasing the turtle into the ocean.
Again, N5,000 was given to the boys before the creature was allowed to return back home where it belongs. The most rewarding moment was to see turtle as it swam back to the ocean.
Sea turtles are generally found in the waters over continental shelves. During the first three to five years of life, sea turtles spend most of their time in the pelagic zone floating in seaweed mats.
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