Pakistani Wildlife Team Cradles Green Turtle Babies from Beach to Sea

KARACHI: A female tortoise cuts across the sea in the Pakistani port city of Karachi late at night, looking for a place to lay her eggs.

Waiting for her, the crew of Sindh Wildlife watches silently as the green tortoise burrows 100 or more eggs in the sand before returning to the Arabian Sea.

Thanks to COVID-19 and travel restrictions, beaches around the world have been inhabited by people since last year. Sea turtles have taken the opportunity to return to their native habitats, reintroducing the less polluted, peaceful beaches to lay their eggs during the great breeding season in September-November.

The green tortoises seen on Karachi beaches jumped to 15,000 last year from 8,000-8,500 in 2019, said Sindh Wildlife. The closure of the Lockdowns ended earlier this season, but conservationists are still waiting for dozens of endangered species.

Among the largest sea turtles and only vegetarian animals, adult green tortoises can weigh over 200 pounds [90 kg] (200 kg).

They live in more than 80 countries and live in more than 140 tropical and subtropical coastal areas. The conservation group Sea Turtle Conservancy estimates that there are 85,000 to 90,000 female laying hens worldwide.

Karachi weather can allow for hatching in late January, and wildlife officials will continue to monitor until then.

“The turtles have still had an ample egg-laying opportunity during this period. In this season, too, we have had a large number of turtles coming here. The result is that within a period of three months, we have nested around 6,000 eggs so far,” said Ashfaq Ali Memon, who is in charge of Sindh Wildlife’s Marine Turtle Unit.

As soon as the mother turtle leaves, staff hurry to dig out the eggs and move them to a three-foot (1-metre) deep pit in a hatchery until the babies hatch, 40-45 days later. The hatchlings are taken to the beach immediately and released into the sea.

The Sindh turtle unit has released 860,000 turtle babies into the Arabian Sea since being set up in 1970. Memon said 900 have been released so far this season.

Conservationists say that in the past, sea turtle populations were threatened by demand for their fat, meat, and eggs, but in recent years loss of habitat due to pollution and land reclamation have also taken their toll.