Dozens of endangered baby green sea turtles race into the sea in Thailand
Dozens of endangered baby green sea turtles were released into the sea after being cared for by vets at a marine rehabilitation centre in Thailand.
Beautiful aerial drone footage shows the nine-month-old creatures racing into the water after being helped out of a bucket on the beach in Phang Nga province on April 1.
The 46 young reptiles were taken from their mother’s nest last year after they hatched as vets believed they would have a higher chance of surviving in the wild if nurtured in the centre before being released.
Their mother Mae Sri Mariot was a 92cm-long green turtle who frequently nested in Koh Yung island and had returned to lay her eggs again this month.
Phuket Marine Biological Centre Director Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong said they had deployed more staff in the island to monitor the animals as it was one of the main nesting areas of green sea turtles around Andaman Sea.
He said: ‘This island is important for the green sea turtles.
A big part of their population in the Andaman Sea had come from the Koh Yung island and we wish to protect that.’ Director Kongkiat added that the island was a turtle sanctuary so they did not allow it to be opened for tourists to help preserve its environment.
He said: ‘The island was a turtle sanctuary and not opened for tourists.
The baby turtles were normally taken to the rehabilitation centre after they hatched the eggs.
‘They would be released back to the sea when they turned nine months old in order to increase their chances of survival.’ The green sea turtles are classed as ‘endangered’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.