Every summer, sea turtles come out of the Mediterranean Sea and lay their eggs on the beaches of Israel. A mother turtle digs a hole in the sand at night, lays about one hundred eggs, covers them and goes back to the sea. She never sees her babies.
The eggs are in danger. People walk on the beach, dogs dig in the sand and foxes eat the eggs. So every summer morning, volunteers walk along the beach and look for turtle tracks. When they find a nest, they move the eggs to a safe area with a fence around it.
After about fifty days, the baby turtles hatch. They are only five centimeters long. At night they run to the water, because they follow the light of the moon on the sea. Lights from houses and roads can confuse them, so some beaches turn off their lights in summer.
Scientists think that only one baby turtle in a thousand grows up. That is why every egg is important.