Main image via Twitter + The Telegraph
Nature has taken the spotlight recently as humans stay in their homes to help fight the COVID-19.
With people in their homes, animals all over the world are taking this opportunity to explore beyond their usual boundaries and we’re loving every minute of it!
Recently, Thailand has been making its mark as environmentalist have found the largest number of leatherback turtles’ nests in two decades.
If you didn’t know, leatherback turtles are the largest sea turtles in the world and are currently listed as a vulnerabl species globally by the International Union for Conservation on Nature.
In Thailand, these magnificent creatures are considered as endangered.
With this in mind, the finding of 11 turtles nests since last November is an undoubtedly amazing feat.
Leatherback turtles rely on dark and quiet areas with minimal movement to lay their eggs.
As residents and tourists are under lockdown, the turtles finally have a chance to breathe and peacefully lay their eggs.
Image via The Telegraph
These gentle creatures unfortunately are also victims of egg theft, as people have been known to steal their eggs from their nests for consumption.
According to the director of the Phuket Marine Biological Center - Kongkiat Kittiwatanawong, the 11 nests that were discovered by authorities since last November were the biggest find in 20 years.
Speaking to Reuters he said, “This is a very good sign for us because many areas for spawning have been destroyed by humans. No such nests had been found for the previous five years.”
“If we compare to the year before, we didn’t have this many spawn, because turtles have a high risk of getting killed by fishing gear and humans disturbing the beach,” he added.
At the end of March, after monitoring the eggs for two months - the staff from a national park in the southern province of Phanga Nga bordering the Andaman Sea found 84 hatchlings!
This is definitely great news for the planet! Hopefully humans will take note of how nature is healing itself while we stay home and stay out of the way.
We can’t wait to hear more about how Mother Nature is slowly taking back what belongs to her!
Be sure to keep playing your part by staying home to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and let nature have a chance to breathe.
Stay updated with the latest COVID-19 news here: https://en.syok.my/covid-19
Info via The Independent