Rey Anthony Chiu

As you read this, four hawksbill turtles may have finally wriggled free among sea-grasses off the beaches in Bacong, Anda town. Baby sea turtles, after hatching would instinctively crawl out to sea where they would be much safer from land predators. Its journey from its nest to the breaking surf is filled with peril. Drawn to the scent of sea and moonlight, some hatchlings would stray, fooled by street-lights and across highways where many do not get so lucky. These hatchlings have to reach the water before sunrise, their being exposed to the sun makes they totally helpless against frigate birds, humans or other animals that stalk them. For the Anda hawksbills, their start may not be that good, as their freedom belatedly comes. Hatched in May last year in the sandy beaches of Bacong, the four were among the more than a hundred which should have wriggled to the sea as they break out from the sand. But the community in Bacong decided to keep them in captivity, and a confinement tank became the home of the hatchlings since then.

It was only recently when the turtles in the confinement tank slowly died one after another that the community realized keeping the turtles is doing the wild animals no good. Already classified as critically endangered, hawksbill marine turtles are hunted by human around the globe for their tortoiseshell, which are used as fashion accessories. In still some other parts if the world, several cultures eat sea-turtle meat. Allowing sea turtle hatchlings to immediately venture into the water does not even put these rare animals to safety. The sea is teeming with predators for these young turtles, their tender carapace can not protect them from any larger predator. But the practice of putting the hatching “in captivity is illegal and threatens the already endangered hawksbill population in Southeast Asia,” says Dr. Alessandro Ponzo of the Large Marine Vertebrates Project in Bohol. The 4 juvenile turtles will be released after a month of "rehabilitation," Dr. Ponzo said last week. Rehabilitation, by the way consists of giving them high energy food and raising the water levels in the confinement tank to try to stimulate swimming and increase dive capability.

They will be released at sea in the line of floating seaweed offshore of Bacong, where they will find shelter and food for the first months, he added then. If they do not learn how to properly look for food, they won’t survive and they wont do anyone any good, says Macky Lovina, in her comment to the hawksbill captivity. Lovina, who works for the CAPE Foundation, thinks a month of rehabilitation is not even enough. I think it’s too soon for release, and most probably, it may not be possible anymore, she said. According to Large Marine Vertebrates Project, the team handling the rehabilitation of the hawksbill, “we are feeding them with proper food, placed at the bottom of the tank to encourage diving while raising the water level [of the tank] to have them swimming. The releasing activity is so times while the seas in Bohol are still calm, said Dr. Ponzo, a veterinarian and president of the LAMAVE. On Lovina’s comments, Dr. Ponzo said, “It would be nice if we’d have more time and resources, but the important thing is releasing the animals and raising the awareness on how dangerous the practice is.” The confinement tank will be also removed and will be replaced by educational information boards regarding turtles and the Bohol Marine Environment, Dr. Ponzo said.