Dozens of endangered turtles hatch on Galapagos Islands

Dozens of the endangered green sea turtles began their journey to the ocean after hatching in nesting sites on several beaches of Ecuador's Galapagos Islands.

The natural phenomena was highlighted on Wednesday by the Galapagos National Park (PNG), which is carrying out a project involving the island's population to monitor and protect the hatching of the eggs, reports Efe news.

Isabela Island's youth have been involved during the last few weeks in the nesting process of the green turtles, who often go to these islands to lay their eggs.

Young volunteers with the national park monitored and cared for the nesting sites until the emergence of the hatchlings from the nests built by their mothers in the sand of the beaches of the archipelago.

After hatching, the tiny turtles must make a dash to the sea to avoid being eaten by natural predators, including birds or other marine animals, although they are also under threat from domestic animals and humans.

For this reason, the Galapagos National Park Directorate has urged the local community to respect the nesting areas of sea turtles on publicly accessible beaches. 

According to the PNG, sea turtle nesting areas have been identified in the area known as Playa Grande on Isabela Island as well as Turtle Bay on Santa Cruz. IANS

The Galapagos Islands, which were declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1978, are located around 1,000 km west of the continental coast of Ecuador and are named after the giant tortoises that inhabit it.

Its land and marine reserve, covering an area of 1,38,000 sq km, contains rich biodiversity considered a natural laboratory that allowed the British scientist Charles Darwin to develop his theory of evolution by natural selection.