On August 2, the Management Board of Hon Cau Marine Protected Area (Tuy Phong District, Binh Thuan Province) announced that it had successfully rescued a rare sea turtle nest with 78 eggs. Earlier, last night, heavy rain appeared in the Hon Cau island area. This morning, the Marine Protected Area staff on patrol discovered a newly laid nest with 78 eggs at Trang Dao Beach, Hon Cau.
Sea turtle eggs scattered at Trang Dao Beach, Hon Cau. Photo: Phi Phi
The mother turtle dug a hole of more than 20cm, about half an arm deep, near the coastline where the sand meets the vegetation on Hon Cau Island. The mother turtle then laid the eggs in the nest and covered it with sand. After discovering the nest, the staff of the Conservation Area carefully collected the nest of turtle eggs and rescued them, bringing them to the hatching ground of the Patrol and Control Team on Hon Cau Island.
78 sea turtle eggs discovered this morning, August 2. Photo: Phi Phi
Sea turtle eggs are collected at the incubation site so that the baby turtles can hatch safely. Photo: Phi Phi
Ms. Luu Yen Phi - an employee of Hon Cau Marine Protected Area, said that because she could not see the mother turtle, she did not know which family the turtle eggs belonged to.
Sea turtles will be released back into the wild after successful hatching.
However, on Hon Cau Island, the nests are often found to be of the Green Turtle species (scientific name: Chelonia Mydas), one of the rare turtle species that need to be protected. According to Ms. Phi, this is the first nest of turtle eggs discovered in 2024 on Hon Cau Island. Sea turtles often come to this island to lay eggs during the South wind season, from May to October every year. When discovering a nest of turtle eggs, the staff of the Conservation Area often rescue and collect them to the nesting ground so that the eggs can hatch safely, avoiding theft, before releasing the baby turtles back into the sea. Along with the diverse coral ecosystem, sea turtles are one of the highlights demonstrating the conservation of biodiversity on Hon Cau Island. Every year, this place witnesses many generations of sea turtles coming ashore to lay eggs and being rescued, successfully hatched before being released back into the wild.
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