PHANG-NGA, Nov 19 (TNA) – A national park in the southern
province of Phang-nga has planned to broadcast leatherback turtle’s
egg-hatching live from Hat Thai Mueang Beach, in an attempt to raise public
awareness on marine animal conservation.
Khao Lampi–Hat Thai Mueang National Park officials have relocated
leatherback turtles and their eggs to an incubation site on Hat Thai Mueang
Beach in order to protect nesting turtles.
The Marine and Coastal Resources Department has then
installed six closed-circuit cameras at the site to relay images for live broadcast
on its website: www.dmcr.go.th.
Officials have declared the turtle incubation site a
restricted area to prevent human disruptions and successful hatching of
leatherback turtle, known in Thai as Tao Mafueng.
Hat Thaimueng is one of the beaches in Thailand that the sea
turtles lay their eggs. But in the past
several years, their number has dropped due to pollution and tourism
activities.
Until recently, the turtles slowly returned to the beaches,
prompting vigorous conservation efforts by officials and local people.
Leatherback turtles are on the red list of the International
Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as they are at serious risk of
extinction. (TNA)
