Bon voyage to Maluo, Alfred and Bailey: Kuda Huraa’s first island-born hatchlings in 15 years!
[O]n 21 September 2012, 104 green turtle hatchlings emerged from the sand on Four Seasons Resort Kuda Huraa’s Sunrise Beach – the first wild turtles to be born on the island in 15 years. The majority of the babies were released into the ocean beyond the Resort’s House Reef, with four taken to Kuda Huraa’s turtle pools to increase their chances of survival in the wild.
For the past year, Maluo, Alfred, Bailey and Ariel have been hand-reared by our marine biologists. In addition to being monitored, cleaned, weighed and measured on a weekly basis, they have been fed a fresh daily diet of green and brown algae, jellyfish, fish, lobster, crab and squid to supply all the nutrients they would receive in the wild.
Ariel, the largest of the four turtles, was returned to the wild on 14 July this year. And today (25 September) his three brothers – Maluo, Alfred and Bailey – join him, equipped with satellite tags to enable us to track their movements.
[S]ince 2011, we have been liaising with the Maldivian Ministry of Fisheries and working with island communities across the country to increase awareness of turtle conservation and encourage individuals and communities to protect nests. To date, we have hand-reared and released a total of 28 hatchlings from protected nests, dramatically improving their chances of survival in the wild.
With Maluo, Alfred and Bailey being Kuda Huraa born and bred, their release back to the wild marks an exciting landmark. By monitoring the turtles’ movement via satellite, we hope to gain a better understanding of the habitat use, migration routes and foraging grounds of green turtles in the central Indian Ocean – as well as keep a close eye on our ‘babies’ as they embark on their new life in the open ocean – see our Satellite Tracking Map here.
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