Extremely rare albino sea turtle just born in Con Dao

On October 24, according to a representative of Six Senses Con Dao ( Ba Ria - Vung Tau ), a rare albino sea turtle Blanche was born at the "Let's Get Cracking" incubation center on the beach of this resort.

Image of albino sea turtle born in Con Dao.

Blanche is a Chelonia Mydas, or green sea turtle, born with hypopigmentation syndrome, a rare genetic mutation that causes a reduction in melanin in Blanche's skin and shell (the pigment that determines skin, hair, and eye color in humans and animals).

According to experts, albino baby turtles are very rare and it is estimated that only one albino baby turtle hatches out of hundreds of thousands of sea turtle eggs. It is known that baby turtles with albinism often have many different deformities.

A very rare albino sea turtle was born in October in Con Dao and is currently being monitored and cared for at Six Senses Con Dao.

Currently, the albino baby turtle is being cared for and monitored by experts at the Center.

According to research documents from Con Dao National Park, sea turtles breed year-round, but the peak season is concentrated in four months and mainly lasts from May to August.

During the breeding season, sea turtles migrate from feeding grounds to nesting areas. Mating often occurs along the migration route and in front of the nesting grounds.

Two to four weeks after mating, the male turtles return to their feeding grounds, while the female turtles go to the beach to lay their first nest. After a rest period of 11 to 13 days, they continue to lay eggs again. An individual female turtle lays eggs three times during the breeding season, with a reproductive cycle of 1 to 5 years between seasons.

In Con Dao, there was a special case where a mother turtle laid 11 nests per year and achieved a record number of 993 eggs.

It is known that currently in Con Dao there are about 18 sandbanks recorded as turtle nesting grounds. Of these, Bai Cat Lon and Bai Duong in Hon Bay Canh, Hon Cau, Hon Tai and Hon Tre Lon are five areas where turtles regularly lay eggs.

Of which, Con Dao accounts for about 90% of the total number of green turtles coming to lay eggs. In the five years from 2018 to 2022, on average, 687 mother turtles came to the beach to lay eggs each year, with 2,068 nests relocated, hatched and released 145,171 baby turtles into the sea. The rate of turtles hatching and releasing into the sea reached 78.53%.

Since the beginning of 2023, 50 sea turtle nests have successfully laid eggs on the sandbanks of Con Dao. Accumulating the nests laid in the last months of 2022, Con Dao National Park has hatched 134 nests and released more than 8,000 baby turtles into the sea under control.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/rua-bien-bach-tang-cuc-quy-hiem-vua-chao-doi-tai-con-dao-192231024093122308.htm