Turtle South Africa took to social media to announce the start of the turtle nesting season.
Mid-October marks the start of turtle nesting season in South Africa.
According to Turtle SA, adult female loggerheads and leatherbacks emerge from the ocean under the cover of night and crawl up the beach to lay their eggs.
These turtles travel hundreds to thousands of kilometres to nest on the same beaches where they hatched.
South Africa’s ± 200 km stretch of turtle nesting beaches is located within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
Each summer night, dedicated turtle monitors patrol much of this stretch to track nesting and hatching activity as part of the Turtle Monitoring Programme.
According to Oceans Africa, there are five species of turtles recorded in South African waters.
They are the olive ridley turtle, the most rare and is hardly ever encountered, the Lepidochelys olivacia.
Although always under water, only females leave the ocean to nest on sandy beaches.
The temperature of the eggs dictates the sex of hatchlings 20-24 degrees Celsius produces males, while 29 degrees Celsius or more results in females.
Clutches laid in mid season will produce both sexes.
Image credits:
(1-2) Nats Dos Santos
(3) Andy Coetzee
(4) Wilderness Safaris
(5) Devin Trull