95 baby turtles hatch out and head for the ocean</I>
Patcharapol Panrak
The Sea Turtle Conservation Center at the Royal Thai Navy Base in Sattahip has announced that 95 baby turtles hatched out over the Thai New Year period.
Captain Kosit Jiamsupakit, director of Air and Coastal Defense Command and his deputy, Captain Tinakorn Kanchanataemee, along with officers from the Sea Turtle Conservation Center had gathered early in the morning of April 14 to watch the eggs hatch on the beach in front of the center. They were delighted when the baby turtles dug themselves out of the sand hole, and counted 95 of them crawling into the sea.
Captain Tinakorn said that on February 26 a large female Chelonia Mydas turtle came to lay 119 eggs on the beach, behind the residence of Admiral Sathiraphan Kaeyanon, commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Navy. Rear Admiral Chaiwat Sriakkharin, commander of Air and Coastal Defense Command had ordered the eggs moved to a safer place on the beach, as the area in which they had been laid is a depression and floods during rain. It was feared the eggs would decompose.
Observation over the course of the following weeks allowed predictions for the hatching dates to be made, and on April 13, Thai New Year, the entrance to the sand hole began to open as the eggs shifted from the activity inside them. The baby turtles, which are fully developed, emerged from their egg shells early next morning and enjoyed their first meal of egg white before heading for the water.
More eggs are on the beach, with two hatching dates expected soon. Meanwhile, there was a rush on lottery tickets containing the figure of 95 and also 719, the eggs having hatched at 7:19 a.m.
Pattaya Mail