Turtle eggs destroyed after nest dug out

| 26/09/2018 | 12 Comments

Cayman News Service(CNS): The Department of Environment is urging the public not to disturb turtle eggs they see along the beaches after a nest was dug out on Grand Cayman on Monday. Officials said people should never dig up turtle nests if they see the baby turtles emerging from the sand along the beach, even when they have good intentions. “This will not help the turtle young that remain in their eggs or under the sand, as they might be several days away from hatching,” DoE officials explained on social media.

It is an offence under the Cayman Islands National Conservation Law to disturb a turtle nest, and given the still precarious nature of turtle conservation, losing just one nest undermines those efforts.

This season is proving to be another good season with some interesting finds, though it has had its ups and downs, with several nests almost being crushed by a developer’s excavators on Seven Mile Beach and light pollution still disorientating hatchlings.

But this weekend on Cayman Brac two very rare leucistic turtles, ones that lack normal colouring, hatched alive and made it to the sea.

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Category: Land Habitat, Marine Environment, Science & Nature

Comments (12)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Where’s Capt. Eugene the environment minister. Can’t hear his comments over this.

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  2. Anonymous says:

    Typical private sector incompetence.

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  3. Anonymous says:

    How sad. You would think that our Beaches/coastline is under enough pressure from the development then stuff like this happens. The rate it’s going the turtles soon won’t have anywhere to lay. There is no wildlife zoning that protects particular areas during laying season, the poachers are having a field day and now nests are being dug up! There has to be some form of proper management, public education and enforcement during the laying season. You can have a million laws but if they aren’t enforced then they are no good.

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  4. Anonymous says:

    Where are the Turtle patrols? Where are the signs? Why nests are not staked? Why street lights are not turned off as it is done in FL?
    Some crazy people live on this rock.

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  5. Anonymous says:

    Don’t blame caymanians for this, its not in our culture to eat turtle eggs, we prefer a good pot of stew turtle with rice and beans and corn bread, ummmmm yummy.

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  6. Anonymous says:

    There’s some real idiots on this island man!

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  7. Anonymous says:

    But WHY!!???? Why on earth would anyone do this? There must be more to this story!
    Humans… The bane of life on earth…

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