The initiative, first started in 2015 and managed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), helps protect and support sea turtles during their hatching season.
This year, the group of volunteers went to Bay Canh Island, one of the islands in the Con Dao archipelago, to help a batch of turtle eggs incubate and hatch before they were safely released to the sea, Tuoi Tre reports.
The process included managing the newly laid eggs, transferring the eggs to sand holes for incubation, protecting the eggs from external dangers and, once hatched, helping the turtles return to their natural habitat. The volunteers, with the support of Con Dao National Park and local rangers, had to work in the dark, as sea turtles are sensitive to artificial lighting.
“It’s important to transfer the eggs to a manmade incubator to protect them from snakes, salamanders and thieves,” Thang, a local ranger, told the news source. Natural incubation will only result in a 27–30% chance of hatching, while with the help of these volunteers, the number of eggs hatched is significantly higher.
The group also helped to clean up local beaches and to remove plastic waste from the shore.
Recently, in Cu Lao Cham, 1,700 sea turtle eggs transferred from Con Dao were also successfully hatched, and the turtles they contained were safely released to the sea, according to Dan Viet.
[Photo via Pixabay]
