On the 7th of July 2010 we woke up to a wonderful surprise, a Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) had emerged during the night and nested right in front of the Pavilion!

The track was first seen by a staff member at 5:15 in the morning. With the tracks being more than a metre in width, it is safe to say this was a big female. Amazingly though the nest was not buried too deep and the top eggs were just over half a metre down, but the bottom of the nest measured at 80cm. She laid 133 eggs in total, a big clutch for a Green Turtle.

The Green Turtles is the largest hard-shelled seaturtle and females measure over a meter in length. They are strictly herbiverous as adults, feeding on mostly on seagrasses.

It is estimated that there are currently only approximately 40 adult female Green Turtles left in the Granitics of the Seychelles (Mahe, Praslin and surrounding islands) and every Green Turtle that survives is of great importance. The Green Turtle is globally regarded as an Endangered Species. Unfortunately it is still legal in some countries to harvest these turtles and their eggs, both as food and for the curio trade.