BORACAY – A juvenile olive ridley sea turtle was released in the sandy shores of Puka Beach here recently.
It was kept in captivity for more than a year since its hatchling stage, according to the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) of Boracay.
The turtle had a curved carapace length of 32 centimeters and width of 34 centimeters. It weighed less than three kilo.
This olive ridley sea turtle was the first of this turtle species to be recorded as having nested and/or to be released in Boracay.
Previous turtles recorded in the island were the hawksbill sea turtle and the green sea turtle.
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.
“Boracay Island is indeed a turtle haven,” said Director Francisco Milla Jr. of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Office (DENR) Region 6.
The Protected Area Management and Biodiversity Conservation (PAMBCU) / Coastal Unit of DENR-6 / CENRO-Boracay facilitated the olive ridley sea turtle’s release.
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.
Boracay residents who witnessed the release were lectured on the importance of wildlife conservation and protection.
“The best way to conserve and protect our wildlife species, especially the sea turtles, is to let them live in their natural habitat,” said Milla Jr.
Wildlife species such as sea turtles are being conserved and protected, including their habitats, for sustainability under Republic Act 9147 or the Wildlife Resource Conservation and Protection Act./PN
