PHUKET: A big leatherback sea turtle, first spotted on Karon Beach earlier this week, returned last night (July 27) to the same part of Phuket’s western coast to lay eggs.
Marine life experts from the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) were called to Karon Beach yesterday evening (July 27) after the return of the leatherback turtle, which was first seen near Centara Grand Beach Resort on Tuesday (July 25).
Officials from the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) carefully dug the nest to find 129 turtle eggs, Rawai Mayor Aroon Solos confirmed on his personal Facebook page.
Mr Aroon did not elaborate on how many eggs were considered fertile by the specialists. According to the Phuket Info Center, the nest contained 92 good and 37 inflated eggs.
As the turtle nest was below the high tide line, the eggs were then transferred to a safe place at the PMBC facilities on Cape Panwa. Normally, it takes 50-60 days for young leatherback turtles to hatch.
After the first visit of “Karon mum,” as the Phuket Info Center refers to the mother turtle, officials conducted thorough checks on Karon Beach, but there was no confirmation of any eggs found. It is now believed that early reports of the turtle laying eggs during her first visit were incorrect.
In their comments following previous turtle nest discoveries, the DMCR experts explained that it is not unusual for a leatherback turtle to visit a certain location multiple times and make several nests during the egg-laying season.
During the main egg-laying period, from November through March, three leatherback turtle nests were found in Phuket. The first nest was discovered on Mai Khao Beach on Dec 11. The second nest was found near Amanpuri resort on Feb 27. The third discovery was made on Mar 1 at a location named in the reports as Sakhu Bay.
