Living on the costa

A Stupid turtle (Caretta caretta) has nested in a beach in Marbella, having as the only witness a citizen who discovered the animal when it laid 69 eggs, around four in the morning last Saturday. The man notified the authorities of his discovery, through a call to the 112 Andalusia service.

After that, the regional administration launched the protocol provided for these events, as indicated. The nest consisted of 69 eggs, of which nine went to incubation controlled by Bioparc. The other 60 will follow their natural course in their original place.

The period of incubation of these nests can last between 45 and 60 days and even more. The temperature is a very important factor and for this reason it is controlled at all times through two thermometers placed in the nest itself, which provide continuous information.

Finally, they have explained that control during the incubation period will be carried out by volunteers and organized by local associations.

Stupid turtle

This species, the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), It is the most abundant in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean.having stable breeding areas in the Mediterranean on beaches in Greece, Cyprus, Turkey or Libya, and sporadically in coastal areas of Tunisia, Italy, France, Spain or Algeria, where a spawning was recorded last year.

It’s not the first time that these turtles lay their nests on beaches in the province of Malaga. On the night of August 3-4, 2020, on the urban beach of Los Boliches in Fuengirola, a female loggerhead turtle built a nest and then laid a clutch of 72 eggs.

On this occasion, the egg shelter was moved from the beach of Los Boliches in Fuengirola to that of Cabopino from Marbella by the Junta de Andalucía, due to the danger of flooding posed by the first since the sea turtle had laid its eggs too close to the intertidal. On the night of September 22, a total of 37 eggs hatched, with a deployment of 200 volunteers.