Hey there,
I left my corals of Cerf Island to join the team of
the Wildife Conservation and Rehabilitation Center in the South of Mahé for two
weeks. During all my time with MCSS, I had never been there yet. I was very curious
to see the work conducted there, especially the work related to the seaturtles
as I never had the opportunity to study these animals. As it is currently the nesting season of the
marine turtles, I assisted Vanessa in
her patrols along the beaches of the South. The season is quiet though,
regarding the previous ones. However, we still found some tracks, nests and
encountered turtles. It was an amazing experience to see these huge and
magnificient animals coming out from the sea to lay their eggs. I felt very lucky…
With Vanessa, I learned the characteristics of the turtle tracks and to
determine to which species it belongs, but also to recognize signs of nesting
and the nest itself.
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| A nesting turtle |
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| restraining a turtle for data collection |
The second week, we welcomed two classes from the
Ecole Française des Seychelles (French school of Seychelles) at the center.
Vanessa gave me the opportunity to give a presentation in french to the classes
about marine turtles. The children were very interested and curious, and I felt
very happy to pass on some knowledge.
Maybe some of them will become marine biologists, who knows ! If
not I hope, they will raise awareness around them about the protection of
marine ecosytems.
Now, it’s the time for me to go back on Cerf with Savi
to continue to take care of our brand new coral nurseries and artificial reefs !
Next time, hopefully, I’ll return in the South to see the hatchlings and wish them
good luck ! Thanks to all the team members to have welcomed me here !
Coral yours,
Chloe
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| During the presentation |
