Like a clenched fist deep inside a carefully carved terrapin nest lies the egg chamber where the female has deposited her clutch 75 days earlier. When the clock chimes “emergence,” hatchlings squirm and wiggle their way free of their siblings to begin their dash for survival. Today at noon the alarm rang for Nest 280 on the high dune of Turtle Point on Lieutenant Island. Count noses, count eyes, count limbs as hatchlings get ready to sprint for freedom.
Hatchling Bunched Tightly in Egg Chamber