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PORTRAIT
JACQUES-YVES COUSTEAU :
« I AM THE SEA . AND THE SEA IS ME »
By Mariya Chereshneva
EVERY TIME JACQUES-YVES COUSTEAU ANCHORED IN A NEW PORT , LOCALS WOULD OFFER HIM HELP . THE COMMANDER FAMOUSLY USED TO SAY : « THE BEST HELP IS ALL ABOUT LOVING LIFE ». SCIENTIST , INVENTOR AND THE MONACO OCEANOGRAPHIC MUSEUM ’ S DIRECTOR FOR THREE DECADES , COUSTEAU IS CONSIDERED A VERY CONTROVERSIAL FIGURE INDEED . WHICHEVER WAY IT IS , HIS CONTRIBUTION TO SCIENCE , OCEANOGRAPHY , MARINE BIOLOGY AND CINEMA ON HIS 110TH ANNIVERSARY , IS BEYOND ALL DOUBT .
In January 1967 , the « Calypso » anchored off tiny Europa Island ,
west of Madagascar . This scenic place impressed even the most seasoned of sailors . Snow white sandy beaches , cozy coves and a peaceful sea welcomed them after a number of stormy days . This island with a diameter of 10 kms , barely known to man , is home to giant sea turtles of the southern seas . Cousteau and his team were carefully filming the process of young turtles ’ birth .
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Two exhausted females were doomed to perish . One was crawling away from the sea , to die from the heat of the first rays of sun . The other was stuck in a low bush , victim of voracious hermit crabs . These natural tragedies , captured by camera , did not leave the scientists indifferent . Rescuing the turtles from their predicament ,
Jacques-Yves Cousteau born on June 11 , 1910 is one of the most famous explorers and scientists of XX century . they set them free in the sea . They did the same for the baby turtles , shielding them from birds of prey . « We have disturbed a natural balance », Jacques-Yves Cousteau commented . « We witnessed the drama of sea turtles on the Europa Island . Out of compassion , perhaps against nature , we saved the females and some of their young . Some of these species are now growing in the Monaco Aquarium . In doing so , we interfered with the natural course of things . But this journey made us still more fascinated by nature ».
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The yellow ‘ Submarine Anorep 1 ’ standing near the Monaco Oceanographic Museum was built in 1966 — the same year when the famous song of The Beatles appeared .
42 / Hello Monaco Winter 2020 – 2021 www . hellomonaco . com