Project Orion - Rovering with Turtles
is the 2nd Scouts of the World Award (SWA) Voluntary Service Project of the SWA Singapore Base.

Led by 9 Rover Scouts from Singapore and Malaysia, the project is set upon

the beautiful wetlands and beaches of Setiu, Terengganu.

Lasting 16 days from 20th June to 5th July, the team will not only be contributing to the

conservation of sea turtles, but will also be involved in mangrove replanting,
repair work for the villagers and WWF info centre, English and conservation awareness education,
assistance in the local women's cottage industry amongst many others.

"Leave the place a little better than you first found it." - Lord Baden Powell
UPDATE: The blog will be updated from time to time with more turtle new issues. However, Project Orion blog will be replaced by the next project when it starts with the new team. So, DO STAY TUNED!

Monday, April 12, 2010

Phuket leatherback sea turtle eggs fail to hatch

MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Hopes that two clutches of eggs could spell a reversal of fortune for Phuket’s endangered leatherback sea turtle population were dashed last month when the eggs failed to hatch.

Mai Khao Sea Turtle Conservation Group member Somporn Anupun said the 130 eggs, laid in mid-January, failed to hatch as expected in March.

The two clutches, thought to have been laid by the same female, were the first in several years at Mai Khao Beach, once famed nationwide for the scores of enormous leatherback turtles that came to nest there. Little remains of that legacy apart from tourist attractions with turtle-themed names.

The eggs appeared to be viable, but after the expected hatching period, a look inside revealed the albumen was watery. This indicated they had never been fertilized, Mr Somporn said.

Kongkiet Kittiratanawong, a researcher at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC), agreed with this assessment.

The failure of the eggs to hatch had not been caused by volunteers moving them to a safe location on the beach after they were discovered, he said.

The PMBC often incubates and raises hatchlings at its facilities at Cape Panwa, but not the highly pelagic leatherback, which does not do well in captivity, he told the Gazette earlier.

A similar clutch of unfertilized leatherback eggs was found at Mai Khao in 2004, he said.

Despite the disappointment in Phuket, it has been a good year for leatherback nesting along other parts of Thailand’s Andaman coastline.

More eggs were laid this nesting season than over the last five, with clutches reported at Thai Muang Beach and Koh Phrathong in Phang Nga, and Koh Lanta in Krabi.

Only the eggs at Thai Muang were viable however, with a 70% to 80% hatching rate.

Leatherbacks typically lay clutches of around 80 fertilized eggs together with 30 smaller unfertilized eggs. The incubation period is about 65 days.

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