Meeting baby turtles at Sukamade Turtle Beach

Sea turtles come to lay its eggs

Sukamade Beach is a long sandy beach with high and rough waves, which form a mist along the ocean’s edge. According to the ranger, almost every night throughout the year, turtles emerge from these rough waves to lay their eggs. With wild animals (deer, big lizards) capable of detecting their scent, the eggs are vulnerable and will be immediately exposed to dangers. So the ranger hatches the eggs, incubates them in the park, and then release the baby turtles to the ocean.

The first highlight at the beach took place during the night. A sea turtle made her way up the beach to lay her eggs. It was a long and laborious job – starting with checking that the place was right, that she was happy with it, creating a chamber, laying the eggs, covering the chamber, and then dragging its weary body back to the ocean. We kept hearing her rough breath, and her eyes were continually filled with tears. (The ranger told us that the tears are the result of a process whereby the turtle discharges excessive sea salt. But still, it dramatized the hard work that she was doing in front of us.)

Releasing turtles to the ocean

The second highlight came the next day. We were up before the sunrise and went to the beach to release some baby turtles, which were so cute and lovely. The ranger said that, out of a thousand baby turtles that hatch, only one or two will survive and return to lay eggs for the future generations. But the babies were fearless, running straight into the rough ocean. None of us on the beach could stop shouting “all the best!”

After the heartwarming moment, we spent some time on the beach. This was when we realized that the beach was covered with tracks left by the turtles, as well as the footprints of wild animals around them, such as lizards, boar, and deer. To be honest, we felt a bit guilty last night when the ranger picked up the eggs, wondering if a natural birth would be better for the turtles. However, having seeing this view, we were convinced that the conservation definitely helps the turtles to survive.