The nest was originally found on Jan 14, about 300 metres from where eggs had been laid on Nov 27, 2019.
Department of Marine and Coastal Resource (DMCR) Office 6, based in Phang Nga, went to the beach last night and reported that only 22 of the eggs were healthy enough to produce hatchlings, with the remaining 40 infertile.
“At about 9:30pm last night officers found that the nest was positioned lower than normal and the eggs underneath were about to hatch,” Prarop Plangngarn, Chief of Phuket Marine National Park Operations Center 2, told The Phuket News today (Mar 10).
“Officers saw that some of the baby turtles were having difficulty climbing out of the nest so they helped by digging the 22 out. One of the eggs had not formed correctly, meaning that the embryo had died and it didn’t make it,” he added.
“Of those that hatched successfully, 14 were strong enough and released directly to the ocean, while the remaining seven were taken into care, to be observed by Phuket Marine Biological Centre (PMBC) officials. They will be monitored and nursed until they are strong enough to be released to the sea, hopefully by midnight this evening.
“The next turtle nest, which was found on Bor Dan beach on Jan 19, is expected to hatch around April 19,” Mr Prarop concluded.