Page 204 - Allah's Gentle Artistry

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When their mating season comes, sea turtles crawl onto
the beach in numbers. But it is not just any beach they come
to; it is the beach where they were born. Sometimes they
have to travel 800 kilometers (498 miles) to reach their birth-
place. At the end of their journey, they lay their eggs and
bury them under the sand. So, why do they always gather at
the same beach at the same time? If they did so at a different
time and on a different beach, would their young survive?
When we try to answer this question, we meet a very in-

teresting situation. The tiny turtles that hatch from the eggs
weigh only about 31 grams (1.1 ounce) and a single turtle