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Pregnant sea creature trapped under driftwood for hours in Australia. Then came rescue

A bird survey in a northern park of Australia turned into an essential rescue after rangers spotted a critically endangered sea creature trapped under driftwood.

Rangers were conducting surveys of crested terns and lesser crested terns on Womer Cay, a tiny plot of land in the northern region of the Great Barrier Reef, when they spotted a sea turtle under a piece of wood, according to a March 21 news release from the country’s Department of the Environment, Science, Tourism and Innovation.

As they got closer, rangers saw that it was a female hawksbill turtle, a critically endangered species, according to the department.

The turtle was likely trying to make her way up the shore to lay eggs, rangers said, but had become stuck under the driftwood.

Sea turtles come to shore to lay their eggs at night, so when rangers approached the female turtle at 11 a.m, she had likely been trapped for hours, according to the release.

“Thankfully she was spotted and ranger Joman Tomasello carefully removed her from the log and carried her to the ocean,” ranger Katie Bampton said in the release. “She would’ve been stuck for hours and due to the very hot conditions, we believe she wouldn’t have survived much longer.”

Tomasello carried the pregnant sea turtle close to the edge of the water and let her return to the sea on her own accord, Bampton said.

“When she was placed in front of the ocean, she took a little bit of time to get moving but eventually swam away,” Bampton said in the release. “The water would’ve felt so good, and we’re hoping she returned that evening to come ashore and lay a clutch of eggs.”

Rangers said they identified track marks from other female hawksbill turtles and pits of sand where clutches had been laid.

“The rangers who were on that trip are thrilled that we were able to rescue her and send her on her way. These small cays in the Torres Strait and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park are remote but they are extremely important for bird life and turtles,” Bampton said in the release.

Hawksbill turtles have sharp, pointed beaks and are known for being “small but fast swimmers,” according to the release.

Females nest four times per season and can lay as many as 140 eggs, rangers said. They can travel thousands of miles between where they nest, like Womer Cay, and the reefs where they feed.

Hawksbill turtles are a critically endangered species that can be found across the warm waters of Atlantic and Pacific oceans, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources’ Red List of Threatened Species.

As many as 8,000 hawksbills nest on the northwestern coast of Australia and near the Great Barrier Reef, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“Hawksbill turtles are critically endangered due to the impacts of climate change, accidental capture in fishing equipment and reef habitat destruction,” rangers said in the release.

Womer Cay is off the northern coast of Queensland, Australia’s northeastern territory.