BORACAY – In the afternoon of Jan. 12, 83 healthy Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) turtle hatchlings emerged from their nest at the beachfront in Barangay Yapak.
Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) Boracay personnel together with Forest Protection Officers assisted and documented the immediate released before the sun set.
The recording of turtle species laying eggs in the island of Boracay is visible proof of the richness of the marine ecosystem and water resources around the island, according to Regional Executive Director Livino Duran of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
He reminded the public to be more cautious in dealing marine animals and other living creatures.
Following the recent arrest of poachers found violating the Republic Act (RA) 9147 or the Wildlife Conservation Act and RA 10654 Section 102 or the Hunting/Taking of Wildlife in Sulu on Jan. 22, DENR Region 6 stressed the need to educate the public and guard creatures found in land, air and water.
The Olive ridley sea turtle is considered a vulnerable (VU) species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List.
The olive ridley turtle is named for the generally greenish color of its skin and shell, or carapace.
It is found only in warmer waters, including the southern Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.
Olive ridleys are the smallest of the sea turtles, weighing up to 100 pounds and reaching only about two feet in shell length.
These turtles are solitary, preferring the open ocean. They migrate hundreds or even thousands of miles every year, and come together as a group only once a year for the arribada, when females return to the beaches where they hatched and lumber onshore, sometimes in the thousands, to nest.
Olive ridleys have nesting sites all over the world, on tropical and subtropical beaches. During nesting, they use the wind and the tide to help them reach the beach. Females lay about a hundred eggs, but may nest up to three times a year. The nesting season is from June to December. (DENR-6/PN)
