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BANGKOK: Thailand has found the highest number of rare leatherback sea turtle nests in two decades on beaches stripped of tourists due to the COVID-19 pandemic, environmentalists say.
From wild boars patrolling the Israeli city of Haifa to deer venturing into London’s suburbs, the virus closures lure wildlife onto the abandoned streets of many cities.
In Thailand, with 2,765 infections and 47 deaths, travel restrictions ranging from a ban on international flights to a call on citizens to stay home have caused a collapse in the number of tourists, but freed up beaches for wildlife .
A newly hatched leatherback turtle makes its way for the first time on a beach in Phanga Nga district, Thailand, on March 27, 2020. (Photo: Reuters / Mongkhonsawat Leungvorapan)
The 11 turtle nest authorities have found that since last November they were the highest number in 20 years, said Kongkiat Kittiwatanawong, director of the Phuket Marine Biological Center.
“This is a very good sign for us because many spawning areas have been destroyed by humans,” he told Reuters.
No such nests have been found in the past five years.
“Compared to the previous year, we didn’t have as many spawns, because turtles are at high risk of being killed by fishing gear and humans who disturb the beach.”
A newly hatched Babiy leatherback turtle is seen before reaching a sea for the first time on a beach in Phanga Nga district, Thailand, on March 27, 2020. (Photo: Reuters / Mongkhonsawat Leungvorapan)
Leatherback turtles are the largest sea turtles in the world. They are considered endangered in Thailand, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists them as vulnerable species worldwide.
They lay their eggs in dark and quiet areas, scarce when tourists crowd the beaches. People are also known to dig their nests and steal eggs.
In late March, staff at a national park in the southern Phanga Nga province that borders the Andaman Sea found 84 hatchlings after monitoring the eggs for two months.
