Honorary officers take a stand for turtles

Over a hundred people came out to support the honorary officers of Amatigulu Nature Reserve’s talk on sea turtles last Wednesday evening.
The audience was captivated by world-renowned turtle expert Dr George Hughes’ presentation on our beloved marine neighbours. Dr Hughes is the ex CEO of the Natal Parks Board and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife.
The event was hosted at Simbithi Country Club and funds raised will go towards conserving the Amatigulu nature reserve and educating the surrounding community.
Hughes received a warm welcome and had the audience in stitches with his many quirks about turtles.
“Our coastline is home to five species of sea turtle, the Loggerhead, Leatherback, Olive Ridley, Hawksbill and Green turtles,” said Hughes.
Giving a short history lesson, Hughes summed up the tough time turtles have had around the world.
“Turtles were hammered by hunting up until the 60’s, when there was a global endeavour to conserve the animals. Do not worry too much about turtles though, they are hardy creatures.”
Hughes has been involved in research and conservation of turtles for over 40 years and his wealth of knowledge was evident.
He highlighted the fact that turtles always return to the beach that they hatched at to lay eggs. This means that eggs can be relocated to different beaches to increase the size of their beach habitat.
There are plans to do this at the Amatigulu reserve’s beaches, as turtles have been seen nesting near the reserve.
“We started talking about releasing turtles in that protected area, but the transfer of eggs is quite tricky,” said honorary officers chairman Clive Watson.
If they can successfully release hatchlings from the reserve’s beaches, the turtles will nest there for the rest of their lives.
To further  conservation efforts, the group is planning to hold a series of presentations on the ecology of the North Coast.
“To achieve this we are working hand-in-hand with the environmental people at Simbithi EcoEstate and the Dolphin Coast Bird Club whose members will always be invited to our talks,” said Watson.
The honorary officers are holding a River Clean-up Day on the April 5 at the Amatigulu estuary and Nyoni river.
People can canoe on the river and pick up floating plastic and other debris as they go along.
Contact Clive on 083 274 6678 for  more information on how to get involved.