ENDANGERED SEA TURTLES CRAWL TO NEW LIFE
AFTER being rescued from a rapidly cooling nest, 107 endangered loggerhead turtles have hatched and been released back into the ocean at Fingal Beach.
NSW Turtle Watch project officer Holly West said the eggs, laid on
Fingal Beach in early February, had to be incubated last month.
“When the sand temperature drops below 24C in sea turtle nests, embryo development slows,” she said.
“If we didn’t act, it was highly likely that the precious baby turtles developing inside the nest on Fingal Beach would die. National Parks and Wildlife Service decided to transfer the eggs to an artificial incubation chamber, which was designed and built by Green Heroes volunteers.
“Incredibly, of the 113 eggs that were transferred to the incubator, 107 baby turtles hatched successfully. This is a hatch success rate of 97 per cent for the rescued eggs … a wonderful result for this endangered species.”
Sea turtle populations are under threat globally.