An incredibly rare loggerhead turtle has laid her eggs on the coast of New South Wales, and – with the help of NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service’s marine wildlife team – her brood of tiny turtles should emerge at the end of summer.
Distinctive turtle tracks in the sand led NSW National Park and Wildlife Service (NPWS) staff and NSW Turtle Watch volunteers to the nest – which had been laid in a precarious position at risk of being washed away by the waves. The 139 eggs – the first known turtle nest of the season in New South Wales – have been carefully excavated and relocated to a safer location further from the shore, out of reach of the king tide which is set to peak at over two metres over Christmas.
With records showing that some populations of loggerhead turtles have declined by 50 to 90 per cent over the past 60 years, the beautifully prehistoric creatures are listed as an endangered species in Australia – with only 19 recorded cases of loggerhead turtles nesting on New South Wales beaches in the past ten years.
Keen to protect the extremely rare set of siblings, the NPWS staff and NSW Turtle Watch volunteers will monitor the nest over the coming weeks – with the hatchlings set to emerge in the next 75 to 90 days.
Nesting turtles often lay a clutch of eggs more than once per season, so the NPWS and or NSW Turtle Watch are advising beachgoers to keep an eye out for the distinctive tracks and report any sightings in the hope of giving more of our turtle population a chance of survival.
You can report turtle sightings and learn more about how you can help over here.