Turtle Watching In Sri Lanka
Turtle Nesting Beaches And
Hatcheries
Five out of the seven species of sea turtles come
ashore to nest in Sri Lanka, making it an ideal
country to go Turtle Watching. They are the Green
Turtle, Leatherback, Hawksbill, Loggerhead and
the Olive Ridley. All 5 species have been recorded
to nest along specific areas of Sri Lanka’s coast.
The Kosgoda Turtle Hatchery
An extent of 4 kilometers of the Kosgoda Beach has become very special due to the fact that five
species of turtles out of the eight species facing
extinction in the world frequent this beach annually
for nesting purposes. Annually, 67% of eggs in the Kosgoda Beach are eaten, collected or sold by
the locals.
The Kosgoda Turtle Hatchery started in 1981 with
a grant from the Hasselblad Camera Company.
The hatchery is a non-profit conservation project
that employees many locals and has become a
very popular excursion for visitors to the beach
resort of Bentota, a few kilometers to the north.
The hatchery aims to prevent predators from
marauding the nests or catching the hatchlings.
Eggs are retrieved from the nests and reburied in a
sandy enclosure completely covered by netting. At
the point of emergence, hatchlings are transferred
to tanks of sea-water to be fattened for a few days
before being released directly into the sea.
Note : Many of our itineraries include a visit to
the Kosgoda Turtle Hatchery. Otherwise, it is
very easy to arrange locally from most beach
resorts on the South West Coast.
Turtle Nesting Beaches At Rekawa
The Turtle Conservation Project (TCP) of Sri
Lanka started its pioneering conservation
programme at Rekawa in 1996. The ‘Turtle
Watch’ project aims to protect sea turtles in their
natural habitat while providing an alternative source
of income to people formerly dependent on the
illegal collection of turtle eggs. Previous to ‘Turtle
Watch’, Rekawa was rich in resources but
suffered from overexploitation, such as poaching
turtle eggs, in order to support the families of
community members.
From 1996 till 2000 TCP worked towards the
establishment of a sustainable “in-situ” nest
protection (in the natural environment) and
research programme in Rekawa. Nowadays Sri
Lanka’s Department of Wildlife is in charge of
the project and their range officers collect and
move the eggs, just after laying, to a protected
area on Rekawa Beach (ex-situ protection).
Watching Turtles Come Ashore At Night
Turtles are very nervous when they are looking for
a place to nest and can therefore be easily scared.
The turtle can only be approached when she starts
laying the eggs because by then she is engaged in
a very mechanical, almost trance-like behaviour
and it is unlikely for her to be frightened by
spectators. This activity involves some waiting and
some walking on the beach because as with all of
nature, it is the turtle (not us) that sets the time and
place of the event! The whole process of a nesting
turtle can take up to 3 hours and can include ‘false
crawls’ (non-nesting emergence). Of course there
is no guarantee that the turtles come to nest every
night, but sitting on a deserted beach under the
open starry sky is an incredible experience in itself.
Where To Stay At Rekawa
Turtle Bay is an exceptional first class boutique
hotel virtually next to one of the nesting beaches.
Palm Paradise Cabanas, Manahara Cabanas
and Mangrove Garden at nearby Tangalle are
great options for those who are fine with staying in
simple beach cabanas.
Note : You would need to add an extra night at
Tangalle to an itinerary that covers Yala
National Park to incorporate this activity into a
tour schedule. Otherwise you would require an
overnight excursion from a beach hotel on the
South West Coast.
Green Turtle At Rekawa
Turtle Bay At Rekawa
