The scramble to the sea is full of obstacles. For a hatchling that is only five centimetres in length, even a footprint in the sand is a massive hurdle, let alone a sand dune. A hatchlings first few minutes out of the nest are perhaps its most dangerous. Most emerging in the daylight don't make it to the sea - crabs, foxes, and sea birds are just a few of the predators waiting for an easy meal. Oman has a rich variety of bird life and it's not just the gulls that steal the eggs.
Some birds swoop down and pick off the hatchlings as they rush across the beach.
This baby turtle is unknowingly faced with an army of crabs, who line up, ready to attack. If the hatchling is caught, the crabs will disable it by snipping the tendons in its front flippers before dragging it back to their lair. But for some hatchlings even if the predators don't catch them, they still may not make it to the sea, and many die of exhaustion or exposure - their first journey is also their last. These turtles are among the lucky ones, but in Oman it is estimated than only one in every three to four thousand will survive into full adulthood. Cruel it may be, but the fact that the turtle has survived from the dawn of the time of the dinosaurs shows that turtle and nature have struck a fearful symmetry.