Whitsunday residents urged to keep an eye on the sand

It turns out expectant turtles just want the same as their human Mum counterparts.

Whitsunday residents are being urged to keep an eye out for nesting turtles. Photo Lachie Millard

LIKE many expectant mums, turtles just want a safe place to bring their babies into the world.

That’s why residents are being urged to keep an eye out on Whitsunday beaches to make sure nesting turtles are protected.

Queensland Parks and Wildlife service senior conservation officer Dr Ian Bell said the Whitsunday region was home to low density turtle nesting.

While Raine Island in Cape York was inhabited by up to 5000 nesting turtles, only a few turtles would typically return to Whitsunday beaches to nest.

However, Dr Bell said that could change with rising sea levels.

“As our climate change bowling ball rolls towards us, every turtle is important,” he said.

Turtles Hatching at Mon Repos Conservation Park in Queensland. Picture Courtesy: Tourism Queensland.

“If the predictions of sea level rises and those sorts of things do come true … these mainland nesting beaches are going to become really important because they will still be there … whereas some of the islands might become suboptimal for turtle nesting.”

Dr Bell said turtles were very delicate creatures, especially when nesting.

“Turtles are a bit like people and they’re quite shy when going into the maternity ward at the hospital- mum doesn’t want a lot of people hanging around,” he said.

“Particularly when they leave the sea and they make their way up to look for a site, they are really susceptible to disturbance.”

Dr Bell said this could include lights, dogs, movement and even lightning.

“When they try to make their way back to the sea they are attracted to light, and typically the sea is the lightest part because it reflects moonlight,” he said.

“But if you’ve got streetlights, car lights (or) flashlights behind them, the adults can walk inland rather than walking back to the sea.

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“It’s the same things with hatchlings … if they’ve got lights along a road or house lights, they can become disoriented.”

He encouraged residents to steer clear of turtles when they were making their way to shore and laying eggs.

Dr Bell also encouraged people to keep their pets away from nests and refrain from driving on the beach around nesting areas.

“Every turtle nesting is important nowadays and we really have to do as much as we can to try and keep them around for as long as we can,” he said.

If residents see a turtle nesting, they can phone the Queensland Parks and Wildlife stranding hotline [phone] and a ranger will come and check on the animals.

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