Sunday night saw the finale of everybody's favourite documentary series - yes, it was time for us to bid farewell to Planet Earth! This season has been fantastic, with plenty of moments making for next-day office conversation here at The Great Projects. But few moments struck the members of our team more than in Sunday's heartbreaking scene, in which we saw baby hawksbill turtles roaming away from the sand, and towards the bright lights of the city.
Not only were those of us in the office heartbroken at the sight of these turtles heading towards a seemingly impending doom, but social media simply erupted during the course of the clip being shown. Which is why is comes as a relief to many, that the filmmakers of Planet Earth II decided to step in and help the turtles back towards their rightful destination.
In nature documentaries, it is almost always a firm rule that filmmakers should not, and will not, interfere with all that is natural. In fact, Sir David Attenborough said last year: 'If you’re a film cameraman you are trained, as it were, to be the observer, a non-participant. That’s very important.' Doug Allan, a cameraman behind some of the most famous wildlife scenes in television history, has also been noted for saying: 'For me, at least, my job is to look and not interfere. If I feel my presence is tilting the balance of the predator or the prey, then I'm doing something wrong.'
So why break with convention and save these tiny baby turtles? Well, it seems that the filmmakers of this year's Planet Earth felt as if the situation these turtles were facing was not natural at all and, rather, that their struggle was somewhat man-made. Without the bright lights of the city, these turtles would likely never head in that direction - which is why the filmmakers deemed it so important to step in and solve this problem that humanity has created.
Check out the teams rescue efforts below; however, if you'd like to get hands-on with the action, check out our very own turtle rescue projects!
