Turtle Eggs Crushed

Created: 2012-07-11 14:39 EST
Category: World > South America
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Flies swarm around dead turtle hatchlings and eggs.        
     
They were crushed by heavy machinery on a Trinidad beach.              
 
It happened when workers hired to correct erosion on the coast mistakenly removed a larger portion of the beach than planned.    
         
The remote Grande Riviere beach is a prime nesting site for many sea turtles, including the endangered leatherbacks.              
 
Conservationists have called for an investigation into the incident.              
 
Female leatherback turtles can lay up to 100 eggs at a time, but only a small percentage survive to adulthood.