As far as I know, I was one of the first people
to film on Raine Island, back in 1957.
After a fortnight of travelling north,
we at last sighted Raine Island.
As we rode ashore,
we were deafened by the cries of thousands of seabirds,
which hung above the island like a black cloud.
I was 31 and it was here
that I first met a green turtle.
The turtles come up to lay at night…
Nearly 70 years later, the Planet Earth III team
are welcomed by people whose connection to the island
goes back very much further than mine.
– Welcome to Raine!
[David] The Wuthathi and Meriam people
have been coming here for several thousand years.
Raine Island’s a beautiful and special place,
like there’s nowhere else on the planet
where you come and see this much turtles.
It’s a wonder to see.
But research is revealing a hidden threat –
the direct effects of climate change.
Do you want to hold this against the fat part of the data logger?
[David] A developing turtle’s sex is determined
by the temperature of its nest.
Higher temperatures produce female hatchlings.
The temperature of the sand on Raine Island
is now at a record high.
So 99% of the turtles
that hatch here are female.
More alarmingly, we now know this has been the case
for at least the last 20 years.
You do the math.
All females, no males.
What’s going to happen?
There’s going to be a population crash
and there’ll be no more turtle.
The future of Raine Island
looks very uncertain.
We’ll always be here, fighting for Raine Island, the turtles.
But we can’t do it alone.
We need government and big business to wake up and
see what they’re doing to the planet and get real.
Having at last successfully reached the water,
he’s still got a great number of hazards to face
before he grows up.
Little did I know then
what hazards that little turtle would have to face,
or the extraordinary lengths to which people
would go to protect it and its island.
In the 66 years since my visit,
Raine Island has remained
the most important green turtle nesting site on the planet.
The question is, can it last another lifetime?
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