48 newborn leatherbacks released into sea off Phang-Nga
Out of a total of 57 leatherback turtles that hatched at their nest on Phang-Nga’s Khuk Khak Beach on Monday evening, 48 made it to the sea with a little human help along the way, a marine official said on Tuesday.
Dr Kongkiart Kittiwattanawong, director of the Phuket Marine Biological Centre, said officials had spotted baby turtles climbing up from the first nest, which had been monitored on the beach in Phang-Nga’s Takua Pa district at 6pm. One of the officials, Wiroj Iadsongkram, said he was checking the nest at the time and found that the surface of the sand had started to dissolve and two newborns were climbing out. Officials manning the nest took a first batch of 20 baby turtles into a sterilised bowl and waited until they gained sufficient strength before releasing them into the sea.
Kongkiart said the officials then waited for a while, but no more babies came up from under the sand. Officials therefore burrowed into the sand and found 29 more babies that had hatched…
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Ecology
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Photo from The Nation.
