A Hawksbill sea turtle has laid 168 eggs, the second clutch for this nesting season, on the beach of Thalu Island in Bang Saphan Noi district of Prachuap Khiri Khan province. The new clutch was discovered on Friday.

Dr. Yutthaphon Angkinan, an advisor to the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, said today (Saturday) that this is the second nesting of the season by the turtle, named “Mae Suda”.

The first nest was found on November 19th on the same island and 170 eggs were counted.

Officials from Ao Siam National Park and the Siam Marine Rehabilitation Foundation found the nest when they were on patrol on Thalu Island’s beach yesterday morning. All the eggs were taken to a foundation hatchery, because the nest is at risk of being flooded by sea water.

Dr. Yutthaphon said that, during the nesting season, a female sea turtle will lay eggs almost every week, sometimes as many as 1,000, adding that turtles usually return to the same beach to nest after 2-4 years.

The number of nests each year is variable, he said, as he stressed the importance of beach patrols during the nesting season, which help to improve the survival rate of the hatchlings.

Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service