Baby’s day out

An olive ridley hatchling swims into the Bay of Bengal after hatching on the shores of Saint Martin's Island - one of the last remaining nesting grounds for marine turtles, particularly the endangered olive ridley, in Bangladesh. In typical turtle behaviour, mothers come ashore to lay their eggs in the sand, covering the nests before returning to sea. Weeks later, the hatchlings emerge and begin life entirely on their own. Each faces countless threats: predators, plastic pollution, fishing nets, and climate change. And yet, with flippers barely strong enough, they swim towards survival, driven by an ancient, undeterred instinct. For this little one, the journey has just begun.

PHOTO: SHARIF SARWAR