Nature

A place to discussion nature on Farcaster

1/ Sadly keeping with the theme of my post last week, more disturbing changes to the North Shore while I was back on Oahu last month... this shot in 2020 shows 5 Honu peacefully resting on a remote beach.

However, a few weeks ago, I was surprised to observe the Honu began moving back to the water when I was still hundreds of yards away.

Wildlife and landscape photographer from Hawaii. All photos copyrighted. More images on my website: www.jasonorourke.com

https://foundation.app/collection/honu

2/ It's certainly behavior I've seen in other places in Hawaii,  especially on beaches in remote locations, where the turtles are being harassed.

It's not just the presence of people.

5/ This remains one of the reasons I continue to hope that NFTs can have a positive impact on conservation efforts around the world. This 5 Honu image is part of The Honu Collection, minted on @manifoldxyz 
 and available on @foundation.

Each NFT collected funds a donation.

4/ I reached out to local volunteers to confirm that I'm not the only one that has noticed this change in behavior, which likely reflects a level of harassment that is impacting nesting behavior as well. Nesting is down significantly from 2020.

3/ On beaches like Laniakea on Oahu, Ho'okipa on Maui, and Poipu on Kauai, where volunteers do outreach & education about these beautiful turtles, you can see dozens of turtles haul out to rest on the beach, with hundreds of people gathered to watch.