BBC reveals charity saved Planet Earth’s lost turtles

A SCENE in Planet Earth II that left viewers in tears as hordes of lost baby turtles died in Barbados has had an uplifting ending – thanks to human intervention.

Presenter Sir David Attenborough had told viewers of the hit BBC nature programme that four in every five hawksbill turtle babies fail to make it through their first night because they are disorientated by artificial lights and crawl into the city.

Footage showed them falling down drains and being crushed on busy roads, prompting hundreds of viewers to express their concerns on social media.

But what appeared to be a tragic clip turned out to be only half the story, as the BBC has now revealed that the turtles were being taken to safety by members of a local environmental charity.

‘Very small chance of surviving’

Following reports yesterday that the BBC had flouted Sir David’s golden rule that film crews should observe the natural world but not interfere, the Corporation confirmed the Barbados Sea Turtle Project had stepped in to help.

Carla Daniel, the charity’s deputy field director, said: ‘When a hatchling emerges, it looks around to orient itself in the direction of the brightest horizon and then it crawls in that direction. Artificial lights are always brighter than the water.

‘Without human intervention, they have a very, very small chance of surviving.’

Last year Sir David said: ‘If you’re a film cameraman you are trained to be the observer, a non-participant. That’s very important.’

Last night, a BBC spokesman said: ‘The charity saved the turtles while the crew were filming.’