In Pakistan’s coastal city of Karachi, which is filled with traffic and construction, four green turtles leave the Arabian Sea in search of a place to lay their eggs.
The three are immediately taken back by the bright lights and sounds of a beach party taking place nearby.
But at the end of a beach, one kicks sand into the air with its flippers and settles on dry land, where it lays 88 golf-ball-sized eggs.
Six people who provide protection to the last surviving breeding ground of this species of turtle in Pakistan were also standing nearby.
Ashfaq Ali Memon, head of marine wildlife in Sindh’s wildlife department, says that ‘being a human does not mean only loving another human being, these animals also need the same kind of attention and love.’
Sand Spit Beach is a favorite recreation spot for the city’s 22 million residents and an important breeding ground for Pakistan’s endangered green turtles.
An eight-kilometer (five-mile) stretch of beach is continuously eroded by the construction of concrete houses meter by meter of sandbar where turtles nest.
Hussain Bano, Memon’s wife, who assists the volunteers, says, ‘Once I saw someone disturbing the turtle while it was laying eggs. She ran for safety, leaving a row of eggs behind her. It was a very painful scene.’
Risk of contamination
Sea turtles have roamed the world’s oceans for more than 100 million years, but human activities have threatened the survival of this ancient creature, the World Wildlife Fund says.
As of the early 2000s, Pakistan’s coasts were home to five endangered turtle species.
Now only green turtles come ashore to lay their eggs on only two beaches of Karachi and uninhabited islands of Balochistan province.
Along with construction, noise and garbage pollution, WWF Pakistan also reported that diesel and petrol fumes have caused hatchling disorders.
This section contains related reference points (Related Nodes field).
Along with massive disruption to their nesting grounds, thousands of turtles are injured or killed in fishing nets each year.
Because of their green color, they are listed as an endangered aquatic creature worldwide.
‘Living Dinosaurs’
The Sindh Wildlife Department has a dedicated team of six paid volunteers who patrol the beaches in the dark during the spawning season between August and January.
“When the turtles come to use the pit, our volunteers are there to look after them and make sure no one disturbs them,” Aamir Khan told AFP.
The 88 eggs were taken to a safe beach center that night and buried in the sand for 45-60 days away from the danger of stray dogs and snakes.
Only a few hours old and only two inches long, volunteers bring the turtles to the water’s edge in buckets and release them one by one at night.
Data on the number of green turtles in Pakistan is not available, but the number of hatchlings has increased over the past few years.
In 2022, volunteers successfully hatched 30,000 eggs and this year’s numbers have already exceeded 25,000 halfway through the season.
Khan said these ‘living dinosaurs’ will continue to struggle against the ever-increasing urban sprawl and threats posed by fishermen.
“It’s nice to look after these turtles, they add to the beauty of our beach,” said 29-year-old volunteer Mohammad Javed.
#struggle #urban #sprawl #green #turtles #Pakistan
2024-09-20 18:03:08
