Sea World Foundation and TurtleWatch Gold Coast rescue hatchlings before ex-TC Alfred

As ex-tropical cyclone Alfred’s swell pounded Gold Coast beaches, some conservationists rescued a clutch of turtle eggs in the nick of time. Find out how the hatchlings are faring three weeks later.

A clutch of baby turtles who narrowly escaped ex-tropical cyclone Alfred’s destruction have embarked on the journey of a lifetime.

The nest of critically endangered loggerhead turtles were dug from the dunes at Tallebudgera just before the cyclone hit, Sea World Foundation aquarium supervisor Siobhan Houlihan said.

“We brought them back to Sea World, placed them in the incubator and they hatched just a couple of days ago,” Ms Houlihan said.

“Loggerhead turtles are a critically endangered species so every baby counts.”

A clutch of critically endangered loggerhead turtles were released into the wild after their nest was threatened during cyclone Alfred. Picture: Paul Bamford.

“We do get a number of turtles nests every year on the Gold Coast but it is a rare event for us to have to dig up the nests early and incubate the eggs,” Ms Houlihan said.

TurtleWatch officer Jenna Versluis said volunteers with TurtleWatch were crucial to the rescue operation, as they helped document and monitor where the nests were.

“We rely heavily on Gold Coast volunteers to walk our beaches, and we teach our volunteers how to look for turtle tracks.

“Then this way we can identify the nests and we’re able to monitor those nests.”

A baby loggerhead turtle crawls to the beach to begin the journey of a lifetime. Picture: Paul Bamford.

The eggs spent 11 days in the incubator before they hatched, and were released into the water from Tallebudgera and South Stradbroke Island beaches.

All up 99 hatchlings were released.

“These little turtles have quite the journey ahead of them,” Ms Houlihan said.

“Loggerhead sea turtles make a mass migration at this age so they’re going to be out in the EAC (East Australian Current) - just like Finding Nemo - they’re going to be taken south before they get shot across over the top of New Zealand and then they’ll end up for a number of years over at the coast of South America.”

Originally published as Sea World Foundation and TurtleWatch Gold Coast rescue hatchlings before ex-TC Alfred