Sea turtle hatchling heading towards the sea. As they hatch, the tiny turtles instinctively head toward the natural light of the ocean horizon to find the sea.

When sea turtles hatch, they instinctively head toward the natural light of the ocean horizon, since they are guided by the brightest light. For this reason, artificial lights near the shore can disorient hatchlings, making them move towards light sources, where they often die of dehydration, predation or even run over by cars.