Guests enjoy rare sight of baby turtles hatching on resort beach
This week, guests at Niva Kuramathi Maldives resort were delighted to witness a rare experience – 59 green turtle hatchlings emerging from the sand and scrambling into the ocean.
They hatched on Tuesday (July 7th) at the North Ari Atoll resort. Niva Kuramathi’s marine biologists were on hand to oversee their safe passage to the ocean, with turtle-safe red lighting.
As you can see from the video, it provided the necessary visibility for them to observe and record the event without disorienting the hatchlings.
The nest contained 107 eggs, producing 59 hatchlings that made it to the sea. There were 46 unfertilised eggs, and only two fertilised eggs that did not hatch. This represents a good hatching rate for the fertilised eggs.
It was excavated with permission from the Maldives’ Environmental Regulatory Authority. Guests were permitted to watch the hatching, as well as the turtle originally making her nest, but from a respectful distance.
The baby turtles hatched after 59 days of incubation. Their mother is the same female green turtle that has returned to the beaches of Niva Kuramathi on five separate occasions this year: May 8th, 18th and 29th and June 9th and 20th, according to the marine biologists. Niva Kuramathi is not a regular nesting ground for turtles, which makes it a significant event for the island.
Sustainability Manager at Niva Kuramathi, Tom Osborne, said: “We are excited to have a green turtle choose our island to nest on. This isn’t a regular nesting ground for turtles, so to have five nests is truly special.”
According to the biologists, the green turtle first hauled herself ashore under the cover of darkness on May 8th to dig a chamber in the sand before laying a clutch of up to 100 eggs. She then drew the sand back over the eggs with her flippers to camouflage them, and returned to the ocean, before coming back four more times.
Since turtles can make between two and eight nests per season, and the team at Niva Kuramathi spotted her coming ashore to create nests on four other occasions, they hope future guests will also be able to experience the joy of seeing more turtle hatchlings this summer, too. Each nest has been carefully marked and protected to give the baby turtles their best chance of making it into the sea.
For more information about Niva Kuramathi, visit www.nivakuramathi.com
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