Dubbed ‘Big Mum’, the turtle came ashore at the northern end of the beach, about a kilometre south of Thung Samet Khao, early morning yesterday (Dec 30).
Park officers found the turtle’s tracks in the sand at 3:13am. The tracks indicated the turtle had a shell 130cm wide and a flipper span of 220cm.
Found the nest, 85cm deep and 25cm wide. Of the 139 eggs inside, 102 were deemed to be fertilised and 37 were found to be hollow.
The nest was the fourth found in Khao Lampi-Hat Thai Mueang National Park and the fifth nest found in the area by park officers this turtle nesting season.
As the nest was at risk of flooding by seawater during high tide, the eggs were moved to another site near the Tourist Service Center, which acts as the base of operations for the local park officers.
Park officers and staff will watch over the nest to ensure it is not disturb by natural predators, or people.
The eggs are expected to hatch within 55-60 days for, sometime around Feb 22-27.