Turtles could become history in Derawan waters

Nesting turtles are magic noctural spectacle in S. Africa

The female loggerhead turtle throws all caution to the wind to leave the relative safety of the sea and crawl up the beach, driven by an ancient urge to reproduce.

It is a nocturnal ritual that is tens of millions of years old and the kind of show that only Mother Nature can pull off.

"I've seen hundreds of nestings but each one is special," said Jeff Gaisford, communications manager for KZN Wildlife -- the conservation body for South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province -- as a female loggerhead gently dropped her ping pong-ball sized eggs into a hole in the sand.

Each year between October and February, hundreds of loggerheads and their cousins, the gigantic leatherbacks, come to South Africa's northeast shores to build primitive nests in the sand and deposit their eggs.

Some also nest further north on Mozambique's coast and on Madagascar's beaches.

A single female may lay 100 eggs at a time and make the trip five times in a season.

This is vital for the survival of the species. Scientists estimate that only one in 1,000 of the hatchlings that will emerge in about two months' time will survive to maturity. A turtle's life is fraught with danger.

This long stretch of pristine beach north of South Africa's Sodwana Bay is covered at night with aptly-named "ghost crabs," little white beasts that scuttle in waves before the headlights of Gaisford's 4x4.

They are one of many lethal obstacles the hatchlings will face when they make their scramble for the sea.

Even before they hatch, they may fall prey to honey badgers, jackals and other predators that sniff out the eggs. In the water they are preyed upon by many kinds of fish and the adults can wind up as a meal for a shark.

People are their greatest threat.

"In other parts of the world there has been a large amount of hunting of sea turtles," said Gaisford.

Habitat destruction is also a factor but South Africa's northeast coast is protected and a 40-year research project suggests turtle numbers are on the rise: rare good news on the marine front.

"In the 1960s only about 200 loggerheads were tagged each season but now the numbers range from 350 to 500," said Ronel Nel, KZN Wildlife's regional marine ecologist.

"Only about 20-30 leatherbacks were being tagged when we started but now it is up to 120 some seasons," she said. The increase is attributed to night patrols during the breeding season, which have greatly reduced raids on nests and the hunting of turtles for food and traditional medicine.

Globally, both types of turtle are considered endangered; the situation of the leatherbacks is said to be critical.

Even while she lies vulnerable on the beach, the female is determined to give her offspring at least a fighting chance. Using her hind flippers, she scatters sand over the eggs. She churns the sand to disguise where there are.

Task completed, she turns to make the arduous trip back to the water -- where she will be transformed from a ponderous box in a shell into a creature of speed and graceful agility.

She drags her metre (three-foot) -long frame, more than 100 kg (220 lb) in weight, slowly back to the sea.

Scientists know that loggerheads can travel as far up the east coast of Africa as Eritrea or journey to Madagascar.

Regardless of where they roam, they always come full circle and return to the sands of their birth.

Turtle spotting is a delicate business, but a limited number of permits are issued to private operators to take people on nocturnal beach tours during the nesting season.

"It's a way of getting people to know more about turtles and ensure their conservation," said Gaisford.

Loggerheads are skittish and if disturbed the female may abandon the effort and try again later.

Once she begins laying, she becomes single-minded in her purpose. Late November and December are prime times. One of the oldest reptilian orders, stretching back 200 million years, turtles have been doing this for a long time.

The activity on the beach suggests they may continue for some time yet.

REUTERS

GetRTR 3.00 -- DEC 5, 2003 09:12:38