Urho, Hilja and Hertta got new homes!!!

Turtle Watch had its highlight on Monday the 15th February when turtles Urho, Hilja and Hertta were released into the crystal clear water of the Similan national park area, 90 km northwest of Phuket.  All turtles seemed extremely happy about their new homes and we are pleased to inform you that they are all transmitting satellite signals already! For those of you who know Similan as an area, Urho has swum 16 km off to island nr 4 where all the tourists are (he’s such a show off). Hertta has made it up to island nr 8 where many divers and snorkelers go and Hilja has swum 26 km non-stop towards the east coast of Phuket! She might be looking for her old home or then she’s got absolutely no idea where she’s going, haha.  But let’s take it from the beginning…

The attachment of the satellite tags took place on Saturday at the PMBC (Phuket Marine Biological Center). Three matchbox sized satellite transmitters á 1700 dollars were literally glued onto the front top shell of the turtles with resin super glue after proper cleansing of the shell. The turtles did not like the operation since the glue gets really hot when it is mixed and burns through the shell which is not that thick on juvenile turtles. All turtles also got internal microchips into their armpits and name tags with our phone number on so they can be traced back to us if anyone finds them. It took many hours to get all three tags properly attached but the result was pretty good and all three transmitters worked fine when they were submerged into salt water!  

The release event took place on Monday. A tired Anu and Maria woke up at 5 a.m. on Monday morning and took a taxi to the Phuket aquarium where we, together with the PMBC staff, packed the turtles into a car and headed off to Thap Lamu where a speed boat was waiting for us. The speed boat took us to the world’s most beautiful place after a 1,5 h drive, the Similan islands, where we had the privilege to go to island nr 1 which is a closed navy and nature conservation area –an absolutely fantastic spot where sea turtles come to nest!

Hilja was the first turtle to be released. She really seemed surprised to be on the white sand and didn’t even go into the water herself. However, once she got in she could not have swam away faster – Anu who was under water trying to film the whole thing really had to swim for her life to keep up with her! Urho and Hertta were first attached to leashes to better be able to observe their behavior. Both acted calmer than Hilja but Hertta made an attempt to escape with her leash and swam about 100 meters before she was caught – good thing otherwise her leash could have got stuck somewhere! We were so incredibly happy about the turtles’ new homes.

Anu and I staid the night in a tent on the beach which was very nice but surprisingly enough – not so quiet. The cicadas were unbelievably loud and the roosters in the morning just went berserk!  However, it was veeeeery nice and cozy and there’s nothing like a clear sky with a million stars at night time. We also patrolled the beach to look for nesting turtles but no luck this time. Now home safe and sound and all turtles are giving good signals so keep your eyes open for maps that will appear here soon!!!