Stavros Yiannnouka
It was the summer of 1988 and as part of our DofE Gold Award our team of six volunteered to spend time doing conservation work on the beaches around Lara in the Akamas peninsula of Cyprus. In the summer months, these beaches are nesting grounds for the endangered giant green turtle.
Our work involved accompanying Forestry Department wardens on patrol to spot turtles nesting, carefully dig up and collect their eggs, and take them back to camp where they could be safely reburied in nests protected with chicken wire to stop foxes and birds from digging them up and eating the unhatched eggs.
As turtles nest at night, our patrols would usually take place between 10:00pm and 2:00am. The first couple of evenings didn't yield any results but on the third night we struck gold when we came across a giant green turtle laying her eggs. We waited patiently for her to finish before approaching her carefully and pinning her down briefly to allow the warden to tag her; it took four of us to immobilise her as your typical green turtle can grow up to 4 feet long and weigh almost 200kg! After tagging her and watching her scurry back to the sea, we carefully dug up her eggs (we counted over 200) and placed in special containers for transport back to camp.
It's been over thirty years since my encounter with one of nature's most magnificent sea creatures and I still cherish the memory of the small part I played in trying to protect them.
Our work involved accompanying Forestry Department wardens on patrol to spot turtles nesting, carefully dig up and collect their eggs, and take them back to camp where they could be safely reburied in nests protected with chicken wire to stop foxes and birds from digging them up and eating the unhatched eggs.
As turtles nest at night, our patrols would usually take place between 10:00pm and 2:00am. The first couple of evenings didn't yield any results but on the third night we struck gold when we came across a giant green turtle laying her eggs. We waited patiently for her to finish before approaching her carefully and pinning her down briefly to allow the warden to tag her; it took four of us to immobilise her as your typical green turtle can grow up to 4 feet long and weigh almost 200kg! After tagging her and watching her scurry back to the sea, we carefully dug up her eggs (we counted over 200) and placed in special containers for transport back to camp.
It's been over thirty years since my encounter with one of nature's most magnificent sea creatures and I still cherish the memory of the small part I played in trying to protect them.
