March 30, 2006
The turtles are coming out of their shells
Three down, about a hundred more to go. The eggs laid by a sea turtle in the beach of Ilio-ilio village in Burgos town last January 28 have started to hatch on Tuesday.A sea turtle made its nest in front of the Bantay Dayat detachment, and residents had been looking forward to the hatching of the eggs, Ava Sharon Batay-an of Tanggol Kalikasan, a non-government organization.
On Tuesday noon, or 60 days after the turtle nest was "discovered," the first hatchling was spotted by Tony de Guzman, head of the bantay dagat (sea guard), when he peeked at the nest.
"De Guzman was already worried the eggs have not hatched, so he uncovered a portion of the nest and saw one already hatched," Batay-an said. Mayor Domingo Doctor, the staff of the Tanggol Kalikasan and some municipal employees held a "vigil" on Tuesday night to monitor and document the hatching, but only three turtles came out of the shell as of one o’clock in the morning of Wednesday. "They are still covered by the sand, they have not come out in the open yet. We only knew three had been hatched because we dug the nest. We covered it immediately," Doctor said. Batay-an said the turtles most probably belong to the Olive Ridley species species as they have black carapace and black plastron (the shell covering the belly. There have been two kinds of sea turtle seen in the area in the past –a leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) and an Oliva Ridley (Lepodochelys olivacea)
"It is possible that the little turtles are either of the two species," he said. Batay-an said she will ask the help of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Protection of Wildlife Bureau on how to take care of the hatchlings until they will be released. The turtle nest was enclosed by a net for protection and the residents hoped the turtles cannot escape through it and proceed to the sea.The nest has become an attraction of sorts among the residents and the occasional tourists. They will just look at it and ask a few questions such as when the eggs are going to hatch.
"But definitely, the hatchlings will be ‘no touch’ to anybody, people can just look at them," Batay-an said. Some literatures showed that once hatched, sea turtles are drawn to the sea, but Doctor wanted to have a ceremony during which the turtles will be released together. "Perhaps on Saturday, when all eggs would have been hatched, we will hold the ceremony," he said. On their own, turtle hatchlings head out to the sea at night, following the reflection of the moon and stars.
