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Turtle, French Polynesia, 1997

Like a baby bird embarking on its first flight, a just-hatched turtle, flippers outspread and eyes wide, swims just below the ocean's surface in the waters of French Polynesia. In addition to a dazzling variety of wildlife, including several marine turtle species, the archipelago's rich lagoons spawn a treasure available in few other places: black pearls.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Black Pearls of French Polynesia," June 1997, National Geographic magazine)

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Photograph by David Doubilet