TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan (PIA) – – A female leatherback sea turtle was released back to its natural habitat in Santa Ana, Cagayan, on the same day it laid eggs for the third time at the shoreline on June 18.
It can be recalled that the same female leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) was spotted laying eggs along the shoreline in Centro, Santa Ana, Cagayan, on May 30 and June 9.
According to the report of Coast Guard Northeastern Luzon through its substation in Santa Ana, a security officer of a casino in the area alerted their personnel about a sea turtle, which was later identified by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as a female leatherback sea turtle.
Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer Joselito Razon led his personnel in the tagging and releasing of the turtle. With serial number PH 2177B tagged on its left hind flipper, the turtle has a curved carapace length of 160 cm and a curved carapace width of 90 cm.
In a recent regional management conference conducted in Santa Ana, Regional Executive Director Gwendolyn Bambalan of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Cagayan Valley appealed for the support of the local government, other partners, and the community to help the DENR protect the nesting sites of the female Leatherback turtle, a critically endangered marine turtle species.
To secure the nesting area, the local government unit of Santa Ana assisted in the installation of plastic polyethylene wire net materials tied to wooden posts. A sign with nesting details was also put up for public awareness.
According to Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer Forester Enrique Pasion, two coastal protection officers were already hired to work on the protection and patrolling of the nesting sites.
He also said that the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority also deployed personnel to monitor the nest near the said villas.
Leatherback turtles are classified as critically endangered under the Red List of Threatened Species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
DENR said the Philippines is home to five marine turtle species, and leatherback turtles are the largest. Adults typically weigh between 320 and 600 kilograms and are around 60 to 120. (MDCT/PIA Cagayan)
