The nest was laid on a small beach at Ao Sai Kru on the headland immediately south of Nai Yang on Mar 11.
The nest, containing 123 eggs, was moved to a site on Nai Yang Beach where they were protected by an enclosure and officers watched over them.
The first eggs from the nest began to hatch at about 8:15pm on Saturday, explained Sirinath National Park Chief Natthawat Nuisriram told The Phuket News.
“Before the eggs hatched we did not know what kind of turtles they were, but now we can confirm they were green turtles,” he said.
More eggs started hatching during the night. However, five of the hatchlings were not strong enough to make it to the water, he explained.
In total, 47 of the eggs hatched, with 46 making it to the sea. The remaining baby turtle was plainly struggling.
“The officers took care of the baby turtle for about two hours, but in the end it did not make it,” Chief Nattawat said.
Knowing that the nest contained 123 eggs, the officers began digging to uncover the nest in the hope of finding more baby turtles.
Instead, they found 32 eggs that had not been fertilised as well as 19 eggs that had been fertilised but failed to produce offspring and 25 eggs that were rotten inside.
All of the eggs that were remaining in the nest, as well as the remains of the bay turtles that did not survive, have been handed over to marine life experts at the Phuket Marine Biological Centre for further investigation, Chief Nattawat confirmed.