Thailand frees endangered turtles with trackers to boost conservation hopes

16/5/2024 11:59

        Off the shore of Thailand's resort island of Phuket, marine conservationists have released 11 baby leatherback sea turtles into the Indian Ocean, hoping they can thrive in the wild and return in two decades to reproduce.
        
        The release of the year-old turtles, each about the size of a rugby ball, follows an intense conservation effort to boost the leatherback's survival chances after the discovery in 2018 that the endangered species had returned to lay eggs in southern Thailand.
        
        According to Pinsak Suraswadi, Director-General of Thailand's Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, the stronger turtles have successfully made their way into the ocean, while others perished after hatching, so a programme was launched to nurse the weak baby leatherbacks.
        
        Thailand is one of five countries, including Sri Lanka and Canada, that have been able to nurse this species of baby turtle up to their first year. A typical leatherback will lay eggs after 20 to 25 years.
        
        They were released in April by conservationists and have satellite tags to monitor their progress, part of an international initiative by the non-profit conservation organisation Upwell Turtles.