Rare turtle finds way to Albay, lays eggs

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines  â€“ Albay folk are guarding the nesting place of the rare and largest species of marine turtle, the leatherback, one of which crawled to shore and laid eggs in the sand dunes of Albay Gulf near the Yawa River in Barangay Rawis here.

The turtle, measuring two meters long and one meter wide and weighing around 250 to 300 kilograms, was released to the sea Sunday night but is expected to return in eight to 10 days to lay more eggs.

Experts said it was the first documented nesting of the endangered turtle species, Deomchelys coriacea, in the country.

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda was elated at the news of his province’s newest transient.

“We are truly blessed in having been chosen by nature for our shores to provide safe haven for the largest marine turtle found in the world and is now deemed an endangered species. I have ordered concerned personnel to adhere to the best ecological practices in handling the turtle and its eggs,” he said.

Albay is a safe home for the turtle and her nest, Salceda said of his province, which is the United Nations global model for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.

He said being a breeding ground of the leatherback turtle “has added to the mystic of our well founded regard of the environment, borne out of the no-nonsense environmental programs and campaigns on climate change adaptation.”

Since experts believe that leatherback female turtles lay eggs in the place where they were originally hatched, Albay could be one of their few original homes of the turtle in the world.

The turtle is primarily found in the open ocean as far as north Alaska and the southern tip of Africa. It is sometimes called the lute turtle, the largest of all living turtles, and is the fourth largest modern reptile behind three crocodilians.

Norma Baylon, chief of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) wildlife section, said they haven’t counted the eggs yet for fear of disturbing the nest.

Leatherback turtles lay 50 to 110 eggs, which take 45 to 70 days to hatch.

Leatherbacks are the only marine turtles that do not have a hard bony shell. Their shell is about 1.5 inches thick and saturated with oil and connective tissues that are flexible and almost rubbery.

As this developed, Salceda signed a resolution creating a task force to protect the leatherback’s nesting area. – With Cet Dematera