Turtle Nesting Season Update

Hi all..... it's been a while since our last blog.... Volunteers are out of sight....Turtles are out of sight & all is quite!

For this nesting season we have observed and recorded 394 turtle emergence and 176 nests....still a good number but definitely lower compared to the last nesting season.

We encountered our last turtle on the 13th of March... which is usually a bit late to have encounters but still always a delight to see the beautiful females nesting..... actually this particular female was encountered for the first time on January 13th on the same beach.

Shooting some last shots of the turtle

Heading back safely to sea

Fresh turtle track

With regards to poaching incidents...there is a significant decrease in the number of poached turtles recorded....and sadly number 3 was recorded over 3 weeks ago. While patrolling Anse Bazarca...to my excitement I noticed the fresh turtle track on the beach and followed it up with caution.... I saw egg chamber 1 abandoned..... egg chamber 2 almost done...but.... the turtle seemed to have vanished into thin air!..... 

We searched everywhere in the bushes and no sign of a down track! The only apparent track were footprints and car Tyre marks close to where the turtle was..... after all the denials in my head and searching crazy for the turtle...I finally came to the obvious conclusion that the turtle had been poached!..... a beautiful up-track on the beach was all I had left from the beautiful Hawksbill turtle who had fallen victim to men's cruelty...

Abandoned egg chamber due to human interference

Anyway...April is here and soon we are expecting new students coming to join us for their internship with MCSS..... so stay tuned for some more updates from the rookies!