DENPASAR: Bali authorities evacuated 106 olive ridley sea turtle eggs on Thursday (Feb 6) near a beachside hotel in Tukad Mungga village, Seririt district, Buleleng regency, to protect them from poachers and wild animals, as well as to give them a better chance at hatching.
Local residents found the eggs of the endangered sea turtle species, also known as the Pacific ridley, in the vicinity of The Grand Villandra Resort on Monday (Feb 3).
Buleleng Police spokesman Adj Comr Gede Darma Diatmika said the eggs were transferred to a sanctuary managed by the Turtle Conservation Group (KPP) in Umeanyar, a village around 20km to the west along the northern coast of the island province.
"Relocating the eggs to the sanctuary was to protect them from individuals with ill intentions," Diatmika said on Thursday, as quoted by Kompas.com.
Personnel from the Buleleng Marine and Air Police (Polairud) gathered and relocated the eggs in coordination with officials from the Bali Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA).
"After coordinating with the BKSDA Bali, Villandra hotel agreed that the eggs be relocated to the safer KPP sanctuary in Umeanyar," Buleleng Polairud head Adj. Comr. Putu Edy Wukaryawan said, as quoted by regional news platform UpdateBali.com.
The regency police force also emphasised the importance of conserving the protected species, as it was crucial to the marine ecosystem.
Edy said it was necessary to evacuate the sea turtle eggs because of the unpredictable weather, and to ensure they were protected during an incubation period of around two months until they hatched.
According to the KPP’s Umeanyar sanctuary however, only 40 per cent of the eggs are expected to hatch. The remainder is unlikely to survive due to unfavou rable weather conditions.
Meanwhile, the village’s Pokmaswas (community watch group) predicted a lower hatching success rate.
"We moved the eggs from [the beach near] Villandra hotel because of unsafe weather. Only 30 per cent are likely to hatch, so we had to relocate them to the sanctuary after more than 10 days," Umeanyar village Pokmawas head, I Gusti Bagus Cakra Wibawa said.
The olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) is protected under the Conservation Law, and is categorised as “vulnerable” on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). - The Jakarta Post/ANN
