BABY STEPS: Newly-hatched Olive Ridley sea turtles take their first awkward steps in the sand and then rush headlong into the welcoming sea moments after their release at the Boardwalk Park in the Subic Bay Freeport last Thursday.

A total of 38 hatchlings, the last batch of some 100 turtle eggs that hatched in the area last week, were released by employees of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority’s Ecology Center under the agency’s wildlife protection program.

Despite developments along the coast, Subic remains to be a nesting area for various species of the sea turtle or “pawikan”, as these gentle giants of the sea return to lay eggs in the same area where they were hatched.

The turtles nest in Subic during the cold months of December up to late February. – Henry Empeño / Photos by Jonas Reyes; Top photo by Jun Dumaguing