A 100 kg Green Turtle Leaves Its Eggs on Con Dao Island, Yet Another Success Story for the Endangered Species

A massive 100 kg green turtle with a Malaysian tracking tag arrived at Bay Canh island in Con Dao to lay 108 eggs. The turtle dragged itself onto the sandy beach of Bay Canh island, dug a nest and laid its eggs late at night on April 22. Con Dao National Park rangers discovered the Malaysian tracking tag while assisting the turtle.

Despite its large size, the green turtle, also known as Chelonia mydas, is just one of seven species of sea turtles that still appear and breed in Con Dao. From 2018 to 2023, more than 145,000 baby turtles will be hatched here, all given tracking tags by Con Dao National Park before being released into the sea.

According to a Con Dao National Park official, the mother turtle weighs around 90-100 kg and is about 40 years old. The tag she was wearing had a country intact but other symbols were blurred so it was impossible to read all the information. Six years ago, another mother turtle with an Indonesian tag came to Con Dao to give birth. Last year, over 2,700 mother turtles came to Con Dao’s shores to lay their eggs.

The green sea turtle is considered one of the most threatened species of sea turtles due to hunting and habitat destruction. Despite this threat, they continue to breed in small numbers in remote areas like Con Dao’s shores. In addition to green sea turtles, there are six other species of sea turtles that breed on these shores including big-headed tortoiseshells and Kemp’s ridley tortoises which are listed under CITES Appendix I and II respectively.