Tiny Turtles Find the Sea

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Tiny Turtles Find the Sea
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Valeria’s uncle Andrés was a ranger on a beach in Costa Rica. One evening he called her. “Come quickly and bring your red torch. The turtle eggs are hatching!”

On the beach, a few people waited quietly behind a rope. Inside a little circle, the sand was moving. A tiny head popped out, then another, and another! Dozens of baby sea turtles, each small enough to sit in Valeria’s hand, scrambled out of the nest.

1

“Why do we only use red light?” Valeria whispered.

“Baby turtles find the sea by crawling towards the brightest light,” said Uncle Andrés. “That is usually the moon shining on the water. Bright white lamps can confuse them, and they might crawl the wrong way.”

2

The babies flapped their little flippers and hurried down the sand. A wave rolled in and carried the first ones away. Valeria counted twenty-seven turtles reaching the sea.

“Will they come back?” she asked. “Some will,” said her uncle. “When they are grown up, the mothers will return to this same beach to lay their own eggs.” Valeria smiled at the shining water. “See you then, little ones.”

3
The End

Questions about the story

Name:

Colour in the circle next to the right answer.

  1. 1What was Uncle Andrés’s job?
    A He was a pilotB He was a rangerC He was a baker
  2. 2Why did they use only red light?
    A Because it was cheaperB Because bright white lights can confuse the baby turtlesC Because red is the prettiest colour
  3. 3How many turtles did Valeria count reaching the sea?
    A A hundredB TenC Twenty-seven
  4. 4What will some of the turtles do when they grow up?
    A Live in a pondB Come back to the same beach to lay eggsC Stay on the sand