In the remote Con Dao archipelago, a nearly 100 kg green turtle with a Malaysian tag arrived to lay 108 eggs. The turtle crawled onto the sandy beach of Bay Canh island and dug a nest, late at night on April 22. Discovered by Con Dao National Park rangers while assisting the turtle, the Malaysian tracking tag provides valuable information about its journey from Kuala Terengganu.
According to a Con Dao National Park official, the turtle weighs approximately 90-100 kg and is about 40 years old. The card it was wearing had the country intact but other symbols were blurred so it was impossible to read all the information. Six years ago, a mother turtle with an Indonesian tag came to Con Dao to give birth. Last year, over 2,700 mother turtles arrived on the beaches of Con Dao to lay eggs.
The green turtle, also known as Chelonia mydas, is one of seven species of sea turtles that still appear and breed in Con Dao. The district serves as the main breeding ground for 90% of sea turtles in Vietnam. From 2018 to 2023, more than 145,000 baby turtles will be hatched here and given tracking tags before being released into the sea.
Among the seven recorded species of sea turtles are green turtles, big-headed turtles, flat shell turtles, tortoiseshells, leatherback turtles, pineapple tortoises, and Kemp’s ridley turtles. All seven species are listed in CITES Appendix I and all except for flat-shelled tortoise are listed in Appendixes I and II of Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS).