New South Wales Australia (Commonwealth Union)_It was termed an epic egg rescue. 130 loggerhead turtle eggs, an endangered species, were excavated from their nest and once the babies hatched, released at Shelly Beach on the New South Wales Central Coast. Ninety babies swayed and sashayed their way on the sand making their way to the waves that would carry them into their new home, instinctively knowing the way.
When temperatures plunged in NSW, the loggerhead sea turtle eggs were in danger of perishing, leading wildlife officials to excavate the eggs and incubate them at the Taronga Zoo’s wildlife hospital. The nest created for the 130 eggs was the southernmost on record in a rescue effort for these endangered species.
The first steps out in the big bad world make up a truly long and arduous journey for turtles. It is definitely not a small task for baby sea turtles to get to the ocean. In the nest, they could be attacked by ghost crabs, worms, beetles, fly larvae, snakes , gulls, rats and humans too, which make up a long list of predators.
Once they have broken out of their shells, they have to dig their way out of the sandy nest and begin the long trek to the ocean, dodging another host of innumerable predators including toads, lizards, snakes and seabirds along the way. But even in the ocean, their troubles are not over. Marine predators are many with fish, eels and crab being mortal enemies.
In Australia, the red fox, which was introduced by early British settlers in the 19th century saw at least 95% of the clutches of eggs destroyed. Aggressive conservation efforts have led to a gradual increase in the population of loggerhead sea turtles and this rescue effort is one of those. Aided by zoo and wildlife officials, in this rescue effort, ninety baby turtles made it to the sea.
Loggerhead sea turtles inhabit the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans and the Mediterranean sea, spending most of its life in saltwater and estuarine habitats. The females come ashore briefly to lay eggs, laying only an average of four egg clutches before they become quiescent. Given the very low survival rate of turtles, this also means this low reproductive rate has seen the turtle population decrease significantly.
Those surviving, could grow to as much 135 kgs, with the largest specimen known to have weighed in at 450 kgs. A marine reptile, the IUCN listed the loggerhead sea turtle as a vulnerable species, protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
