PHOTO CAPTION: PRINCE HARRY RELEASING TURTLES INTO THE OCEAN
Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 24, 2016 (SKNIS)—His Royal Highness (HRH) Prince Henry (Harry) of Wales didn’t only receive a warm welcome to St. Kitts and Nevis by the thousands who came out just to see and greet him, but the Prince got down to dancing the traditional masquerade dance, beating a conga drum, fondly mingling with school children and visiting a turtle nesting site where he released baby leatherback turtles into the ocean at Lovers Beach in Nevis as part of a local conservation project.
Prince Harry got firsthand experience from the Nevis Turtle Group where leatherback turtles come ashore to lay their eggs which are covered and left to mature and hatch while the mothers return to sea.
Mr. Lemuel Pemberton spearheads the Nevis Turtle Group (NTG), which is dedicated to the development of a Sea Turtle Conservation Programme for Nevis that involves local communities, and ensures that sea turtles will be there for the use of present and future generations. NTG was formed in 2003 by Lemuel Pemberton. Once formed, NTG gathered together a number of concerned volunteers to help in monitoring the nesting beaches on Nevis. NTG volunteers work at night on beaches around Nevis to tag sea turtles and collect information about the nesting and movement of Nevis’ sea turtles. Additional information, such as levels of nest predation and poaching, are collected during morning surveys. NTG also gives presentation about sea turtles at local schools and works to involve children in sea turtle related activities.
Prince Harry was extremely enthused to be among the Nevis Turtle Group and demonstrated his interest in protecting the endangered species of turtles by asking several questions.
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