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I went to the north-west coast of Madagascar as I had been informed by Giselle Bakary that Nosy Sakatia has a special bay frequented by nesting Green and Hawksbill Turtles under the protection of a local conservationist Mr Robert. The Green Turtle is associated with a population migrating around the East African coast, Mascarenes, Seychelles, Comoros islands and Madagascar, although the west coast of Madagascar presents some of the most ideal nesting sites with vast undisturbed sandy beaches.
During our second visit to the island, we were not too hopeful of seeing a Turtle as the night drew on, as we could see nothing or any sign of Turtles in the bay. Robert suggested that we move to a second bay further down the coast. He warned us that this bay is less frequented by Turtles although there would be a chance. After wading amongst slippery boulders for almost 20 minutes in the dark, we reached another quiet stretch of sand, but still no sign of Turtles.
We continued for another 200 metres to a point in the faint moonlight where I alerted Robert and Giselle to marks I could just discern on the beach, over 50m away. Immediately Robert dampened my excitement and told me that they must be water channels from nearby fields draining across the beach. But then he hesitated and looked closely and said “but no this is something”. We all rushed forward and found to our delight a pair of parallel tracks leading from the sea inland to the dark shade of a large tree overhanging the beach.
We all looked at each other in astonishment and asked ourselves “is she there”? Slowly we moved into the darkness of the shade of a tree and within a few steps could hear in the distance the sound of someone or something digging in the sand. Quietly, step by step, we approached the sound of digging and found to our amazement a huge Turtle in a freshly dug hole, over a half a metre deep.
She lay there digging from time to time between pauses to rest, then she would take a deep breath and start to dig once more. By the time we saw her she was dry from cascading sand, while her face was covered with congealed sand. Her shell looked quite grey in appearance, although I could make out by torch light a yellowish green ting on its edges. She was about a metre in length and Robert informed me that she must weight almost 200 kilos.
We decided to leave her to dig in peace and walked further on to the end of the sandy bay with a spring in our steps, as we were now strangely confident that we would find another. Within a few hundred metres, we saw new tracks form the sea leading inland again. There were two pairs of tracks leading to and from a grassy bank. We climbed up the bank in anticipation and looked around, but could see no visible signs of recent activity. Robert explained that the Turtle must have come up the bank to survey the area for potential nesting sights and would return again in the near future to lay her eggs.
We decided to head back to our Turtle. At a brisk pace we reached her tracks again and could hear some movement under the tree. Ahead of us, Giselle called out to say the Turtle was moving out of the hole and towards the beach. As I approached she was leaving the shade of the tree. With camera and microphone ready we trundled down the beach with her in the moonlight and waded into the sea with her as she returned to the comfort and security of the sea. A night I will never forget.
Our Green Turtle is the most widely distributed of the 5 species found in Madagascar. In addition to the Green and Hawksbill Turtles, Madagascar is also a breeding site for the less common Olive Ridley’s and Leatherback Turtles. The Loggerhead Turtle is also occasionally seen in Malagasy waters, although there have been no reports of breeding until now.
Individuals can travel for more than a thousand miles to this destination as populations move between different sites to either breed or feed throughout the course of the year. Green Turtles on Nosy Sakatia are accompanied by Hawksbill Turtles. Both species arrive from mid November through to May of each year. They swim ashore either on their own or in small groups at night during high tide, as we observed during our visit.
Our Turtle would have laid about one hundred eggs, which will usually hatch in about 60 days, during the month of February of next year. Baby Turtles from these eggs will then have to force themselves from their eggs shells and up through the sand before they start their arduous march down the beach to the sea. These little creatures weighing no more than 25 grams will be alone and have to fend themselves during their journey throughout the Mozambique Channel.
Very few migration studies have been completed in this part of the world. However, 600km south of Nosy Sakatia, there is a tagging research programme supported by WWF. This study is still in its early stages although they have had tag reports from Turtles visiting Mayotte and the Seychelles. Our Green Turtle’s young will one day return to this island, but the odds are against them with only one in a thousand making it back to their birthplace.
Nosy Sakatia is a special place, as is Madagascar, as it still has enough remote beaches to attract breeding Turtles. However, even this little island needs to be protected from the construction of hotels, whose lights and noise could have scared away our Turtle. Increasing human populations means greater hunting pressure by poachers of this legally protected species in Madagascar. Trawl fishing boats now use Turtle Excluder Devises, although these boats and local fishermen are still responsible for the death of significant numbers of Turtles. Breeding habitats like the bays on Nosy Sakatia need to be protected as reserves in the future for the benefit of the species and their importance for ecotourism.
Further Reading:
Report on Green Turtles in Kenya