Planet Earth 2 insist they saved every baby turtle they could in series finale

Last night’s episode of Planet Earth 2 had hearts breaking as terrified viewers saw newly-hatched hawksbill turtles get disorientated and walk towards a deadly main road in Barbados.

The turtles usually follow the moon’s reflection to the sea but the city’s lights proved too confusing for the babies, with many instead making their way to the city and consequently falling down drains or getting run over on the roads.

Passerbys failed to save the newborns and fans of the show were left distressed and outraged by the footage, but show producers have now insisted that the crew saved the babies off-screen.

Traditionally, Planet Earth’s crew never intervene with the wildlife but they made an exception with the turtles and reportedly carried the creatures back to the sea.

A statement on the BBC’s Planet Earth Twitter account read: “Every turtle that was seen or filmed by the #PlanetEarth2 crew was collected and put back into the sea.”

It is not known whether they also rescued the ones who slipped down the drain.

The Barbados Sea Turtle Project are also an organisation that aims to save as many of these turtles as possible, patrolling the beach and helping newly-hatched turtles to the sea.

Speaking at the end of the series, host Sir David Attenborough made an emotional plea to help these organisations, allowing wildlife to live beside humans in harmony.

He explained: “Only a small number of animals have managed to find ways of living alongside us. And every ten years an area the size of Britain disappears under a jungle of concrete. But it doesn’t have to be like this. Could it not be possible to build cities more in harmony with nature?

"Now over half of us live in an urban environment. My home too is here in the city of London. It’s also sobering. It reminds me of just how easy it is for us to lose our connection with the natural world.

"Yet it’s on this connection that the future of both humanity and the natural world depend. It’s surely our responsibility to do everything within our power to create a planet that provides a home not just for us, but for all life on Earth.”

Needless to say, we couldn’t agree more.