From the minute Ben Hicks wakes up in the morning, his mind is on the ocean. As a wildlife photographer in North Palm Beach, Florida, Hicks’ best days are spent documenting marine life, and he likes to get to the shore as early as possible.
But the other
morning, while walking along the beach, his photography plans came to a halt when he spotted something moving around the bottom of a deep sand pit.
Hicks stopped to take a closer look and found himself face-to-face with a tiny baby sea turtle who’d become trapped in the hole.
“I spotted the one hatchling in the hole around 7 in the morning, on my usual route looking for movement on the beach,” Hicks told The Dodo.
Luckily, this was not the first time Hicks had found a sea turtle hatchling who’d fallen into a sand pit on their way to the ocean, so he knew just how to help without impeding on the baby’s natural process.
“[I] knew first thing would be to make a ramp out toward the water so that it would walk the right direction,” Hicks said.
Without skipping a beat, Hicks carved out a ramp in the sand for the little guy, then watched from the sidelines. The hatchling struggled to find the ramp at first, frantically circling the bottom of the pit. But after a few minutes, he crawled up the ramp to higher ground and followed his instincts back to the ocean.
You can watch that moment here:
A wave of relief washed over Hicks when, two minutes after being rescued, the hatchling finally reached the shore and plopped into the water. He then filled the hole in with sand and continued on his search for more wildlife to document.
When he arrived at the beach that morning, Hicks only expected to capture some beautiful marine animals on film, not save a life. But as with every other time he’s encountered a frantic hatchling at the bottom of a sand pit, Hicks was ultimately glad he could be there to help.
“It’s always a good feeling making strides towards helping Mother Nature,” Hicks said. “Making it to the water is a huge accomplishment for [the hatchling]!”
