Record-Breaking Turtle Season Ends On Sad Note: None Make It From Final Nest Due To Flooding
Malta’s record-breaking turtle nest season has ended on a sad note as none of the eggs made it from the final nest in Għajn Tuffieħa due to flooding which happened in September.
“This nest was a harsh reminder of Mother Nature’s force, and that with the changes in climate, there will also be more severe weather,” the Wildlife Rescue Team Malta said on social media, while breaking the news.
The seventh nest for this year’s turtle season was laid in the early hours of 2nd August, with the female turtle choosing an area in front of the other nests at Golden Bay to lay her eggs.
On 10th September, which was day 39 of incubation, a strong wind of Force Six brought waves over two metres to the North Western side of Malta.
“Whilst the protective measures at the front of the nest were working as planned, at around 4am a massive wave hit from the left hand side, bypassing all the protective measures that had been put in place,” the team explained.
This wave ended up causing a massive accumulation of water just outside the nest enclosure, with volunteers barely keeping up with the time and energy needed to divert the water away, as more waves kept coming in.
“Unfortunately, an amount of water managed to seep into the nest through the sand. This was suspected when the sand above the nest caved in and confirmed when we checked the sand in the enclosure half-a-metre away from the nest,” they explained.
Due to the surrounding area being waterlogged, the water that seeped in through the nest took very long to drain.
Regardless, staying hopeful that the surface eggs might have been spared from the damage, volunteers kept up their dutiful watch over the nest.
“However, once the due dates of the hatching period passed with mo sign of hatching, discussions between Nature Trust officials, ERA officials and our vet were held in order to determine how long to wait before inspecting the nest.”
And unfortunately, that day came.
“The nest contained a total of 56 eggs, out of which four were not fertilised. The 52 that were fertilised were unfortunately all moulded due to the water that seeped in on 10th September.”
As it turned out, the air supply in the nest was cut off due to the flooding, causing the hatchlings in the eggs to perish.
“Although the nesting and hatching season ended on a sad note, we must still remember and celebrate a record-breaking year. Malta saw a record number of turtle activity, nests and 406 hatchlings making their way to the sea,” the team celebrated.
It thanked all its volunteers who dedicated their free time to patrol and guard the nests, saying that it could not have been able to do this without them.
As the season came to a close, from a total of 538 eggs, 406 hatchlings emerged and went to sea, with a 97% hatch rate from fertilised eggs.
Well done to all involved!
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