Hundreds of turtle eggs found After finding the remains of a giant starfish turtle Stranded on Thai Mueang Beach

Phang Nga, In the midst of loss, there is always hope. Found the remains of a giant starfish turtle. Stranded on Thai Mueang Beach There is a nylon rope around the neck and a front paddle. I opened my stomach and found eggs. Late at night the officers walked around to investigate. Found traces of "Big Mom" ??leatherback turtles laying eggs, totaling 135 eggs. Yesterday (January 22, 2024), villagers found the remains of a giant starfish turtle. Stranded on Thai Mueang Beach Within the Khao Lampi-Hat Thai Mueang National Park, Phang Nga Province, villagers informed the park officials. Let's do a preliminary inspection. Mother Tao's condition has begun to deteriorate. And there was a rope around the neck. The tight rope is believed to be the cause of the turtle's death. National park officials They helped move the turtle carcasses. Go to the park office. and coordinate with staff at the Sirithar Rare Sea Animal Rescue Center Came for an autopsy to find the cause of death. and continue to collect academic infor mation Then female veterinarian Patcharaporn Kaewmong or Dr. Fah, head of the Sirithar Rare Marine Animal Rescue Center. Let's dissect the turtle's carcass. It was found to be a female leatherback turtle. The carapace is 105 cm wide and 181 cm long and has a yellow nylon rope tied around the neck and front paddles on both sides. The rope is wrapped around many times. which causes turtles to drown. That's even more sad. When cutting into the mother turtle's stomach It was found that there were eggs in the stomach. It was thought that he had been dead for more than 4 days. Officials collected tissue for DNA testing. Before handling the leatherback turtle carcass for the national park can be used in further studies Officials assumed that This mother of the starfruit turtle He probably swam and got caught in a rope that the fisherman had set up to secretly catch aquatic animals. From examining the egg-laying cycle It is believed that this mother leatherback turtle is probably "Mother Tai Muang" which is one of the three leatherback turtle mothers that will come up to lay eggs this season. They have come up to lay eggs 4 times this season. Later, the Andaman Sea and Coastal Resources Research and Development Center (Phuket) reported the preliminary autopsy results. It was found to be a mother turtle with eggs in her stomach. The shell length is 139 cm. If extrapolated from the egg-laying cycle of the mother Leatherback turtle named "Tai Muang", which matures between 15-17 January, but during this period no eggs were seen laying eggs. When compared with the amount of time the leatherback turtle has been dead for about a week, it is likely that it is the mother leatherback turtle at the end of the mine. They will compare the mtDNA data of the dead leatherback turtles with those of the hatched turtles for further confirmation. It is a very sad loss. The sad news has passed. Good news followed. After finding the remains of this mother leatherback turtle The officials also went to survey the laying of eggs of sea turt les. And found good news, found traces of the leatherback turtle laying eggs. Thai Mueang beach area In the park area Late last night (22 Jan. 2024), it was the 6th nest in Khao Lampi-Hat Thai Mueang National Park. (And it's the 10th nest of this season) From measuring the size of the mother turtle's footprint The total width of the paddle was found to be 202 cm. The chest width was 130 cm., which corresponds to the size of the "Big mom" Leatherback turtle mother. The depth from the mouth of the hole to the eggs was measured to be 72 cm. A total of 135 eggs were found, including 92 fertile eggs and 43 fresh eggs. Turtle eggs have an average size of 5.07 cm. Officials have dug up and moved leatherback turtle eggs. Because of the point where they lay eggs There is a risk of being lost and the sea water being inundated. They moved to hatch in front of the tourist service center. which is a convenient point for care and beyond the highest tide line This is to give the turtle eggs a chance to hatch naturally. It is expected that they will hatch sometime between March 15-20. Mr. Prarap Plangngan, head of the Khao Lampi-Hat Thai Mueang National Park, said that the discovery of the mother turtle "BIG MOM" returning to lay eggs again. It confirms that in the midst of loss there is always hope. And we ask that all sectors join together to help reduce threats during the period when mother turtles return to lay eggs. Source: Thai News Agency