More than 200 thousand baby carettas meet the sea The first babies are born
More than 200 thousand hatchlings of the endangered loggerhead and chelonia mydas sea turtles will meet the Mediterranean this year from their breeding grounds in Mersin. The first hatchlings met the sea from moonlight at night.
More than 200 thousand hatchlings meet the sea: The first hatchlings have hatched
More than 200 thousand hatchlings are expected to meet the Mediterranean this year from Mersin, which is an important breeding ground for the ‘Caretta caretta and ‘Chelonia mydas’ sea turtles, which are under protection because they are endangered
The hatchlings, which hatched from the nests from moonlight at night until the first light of day, met the sea
MERSİN – More than 200 thousand hatchlings are expected to meet the Mediterranean this year from Mersin, which is an important breeding ground for the ‘Caretta caretta and ‘Chelonia mydas’ sea turtles, which are under protection because they are endangered. The first hatchlings, which hatched from the nests from moonlight at night until the first light of day, met the sea.
Mersin is among the most important production centers of loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) and green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the world. Since June, mother turtles have been building nests and laying eggs on some beaches, especially in the 5 nesting areas in the city. While the mother turtles are still laying eggs, the first hatchlings have also hatched. As the first hatchlings try to enter the sea with their small bodies, the images that are enjoyable to watch have emerged.
Sea turtles build hundreds of nests every year in Mersin’s Anamur, Silifke Göksu, Erdemli Alata, Yenişehir 100. Yıl Nature Park and Akdeniz Kazanlı. It is estimated that more than 200 thousand baby turtles will emerge from those nests and meet the Mediterranean. It has been stated that approximately 80 to 100 hatchlings emerge from each nest, but at most 3 out of a thousand hatchlings can survive in the sea where they set off on their journey.
“Babies are coming out, mother turtles are making their last nests”
Mersin University Sea Turtle Application and Research Center Lecturer Dr. Mahmut Ergene said, “In the current period, both the babies are meeting the sea and the mother turtles are making their last nests.”
Stating that sea turtles are migratory creatures, Dr. Ergene said, “They come to our country’s shores in April and May. They start coming out to the beach to lay their eggs in late May and early June. June and July are especially the egg-laying season. We also come across turtle nests that extend into August. From mid-July to October, the babies leave their nests and go to the sea.” “The number of nests has increased, more than 200 thousand hatchlings are expected to emerge”
Ergene, who drew attention to the fact that effective protection efforts are carried out every year, said, “Thanks to this, an increase in the number of nests has been observed. Last year, approximately 200 thousand hatchlings reached the sea from the Mersin coast. However, do not let this number mislead you. Since the survival rate of sea turtles is very low, 1 or 3 out of a thousand hatchlings become adults. It would be wrong to give a number this year. However, an increase in the number of nests has been observed compared to last year. We expect more than 200 thousand hatchlings to meet the sea this year.” “They should definitely not be touched”
Emphasizing that when people see a small sea turtle, they want to take it and release it into the sea with a sense of humanity, Ergene said, “These creatures hatch from eggs with a food sac. They rub this food sac against the sand and enter the sea that way. In this way, they avoid being eaten by predatory fish. While we try to do them a favor, we actually feed them. There is no problem in watching the sea turtle, but they should definitely not be touched. They need to start this fight themselves, leave their food smells on the sand, speed up their circulatory system and enter the sea that way and continue their difficult fight,” he concluded.