We were up and out early the next day to head back to Sandakan, so we waved good bye to the jungle and weaved our way through the palm plantations and small shanty towns to the port.
We took a speed boat to Selingan Island, one of the three turtle islands about forty kilometers off the North East coast of Sabah, nestled in amongst several larger Filipino Isles. It was your typical tropical paradise; white sand a dense cluster of emerald palms and an aqua marine sea and sky. Ahhh :). Absolute heaven!
We had the day to ourselves so hit the beach for some much needed relaxation :)
We basked in the sun for all of about thirty seconds, before deciding it was too hot so we hired some snorkel gear and skiddled about above the nearby coral reef where we spotted sting rays, sea snakes, angel fish, clown fish and swathes of gorgeous coral.
We had been told in advance to try and get some sleep during the day as the Sea Turtles could land on the island any time between 8pm and 6am so we could be looking at a very loooooong night ahead of us.
So forty winks later we returned to the beach to watch the sun set but ended up watching a spectacular thunder storm in the distance instead while polishing off a bottle of £5 vodka between, supping from a recycled plastic bottle. You can take the girl out of Manchester... ;)
We played a few rounds of cards then low and behold, the warden announced the first turtle landing at 7.40pm. We were in luck! We were called to the beach at 8.45pm where the first nesting had taken place. Giddy with excitement when we arrived, we found a mature mother turtle popping out eggs like it was going out of fashion!
She had managed to laboriously drag to herself over the shale to the shelter of a small bush on the edge of the beach, and using her strong shovel like front flippers, had dug a hole large enough for her to nest within. After yielding EIGHTY-SIX leathery ping pong ball sized eggs (good work, lass!) the mother turtle immediately slipped out of her natal trance and began to bury the eggs by scraping the loose sand over the hatchling hole with her hind legs.... Or at least she thought she was! The eggs had already been sneakily removed one by one by one of the island's rangers so that they could be transferred to the 'hatchery' where they would stand a much better chance of survival, away from the claws and beaks of beach combing predators.
The sea turtle, exhausted by her maternal purge, needed to rest a while before embarking on the long journey back to the sea so we left her to it and moved on to the hatchery to witness her eggs being reburied in the island's artificial beach further inland.
Each clutch usually takes about sixty days to mature, and when ready, the baby turtles push their way through the sand to the surface which can sometimes take up to four days! Next, they are returned to the beach and released directly into the sea ready to begin their life in the deep blue, which can be anything up to one hundred years long!
Naturally, when left to their own devices the majority of baby turtles perish on their journey back to the waves, either by dehydrating in the sun or becoming prey to birds or crabs and sometimes even humans :( so the program at Selingan is an excellent effort to give them a fighting chance. It also allows the species to be studied and tagged as little is known about the turtle, particularly the 'missing years' period - the time between the turtle entering the sea and reaching sexual maturity, which is usually about fifteen years.
So, we watched ranger release the frantically flapping little creatures on the shore and laughed as they desperately flopped around waiting for the tide to take them. It was like watching a cartoon with their fins moving so fast you could barely see them.
We were in a group of about thirty so it was a struggle to actually get close to the action, but by a stroke of luck on our way back to the accommodation we came across (well, nearly stepped on) a number of disorientated hatchlings who had either returned to their nest or had managed to escape the confines of the hatchery mesh. We notified the ranger and were advised to pick them up and return them to the hatchery. So we did....after a quick photo shoot of course :)
Birth is an amazing thing to witness, wether it be turtles, humans or indeed any species. Such struggle and sacrifice, but a beautifully selfless and natural wonder. And despite the fact she would probably never encounter her offspring after this night, the mother turtle will go on and repeat the process again and again in her life time in the hope that her kin will go on to do the same. And so the circle of life continues....
This was a night we won't be forgetting in a hurry. Good luck, turtle babies! Love you!
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Tropical Paradise
No comments:
Post a Comment