Con Dao district (Ba Ria - Vung Tau province) is the largest sea turtle conservation locality, with hundreds of sea turtles coming to lay eggs every year during the breeding season, as well as successfully hatching and releasing hundreds of thousands of baby turtles into the sea each year.
Every sea turtle season at the nesting ground, conservation staff at stations under the Con Dao National Park Management Board (VQG) begin a quiet but meaningful journey to preserve sea turtle species.
When mother turtles come to the nest late at night, conservation staff must stay up all night to monitor, record and move the egg lumps safely into the pond (where temperature and humidity are controlled, avoiding Predators and negative impacts from the environment).
After more than 45 days of careful hatching, the eggs began to hatch, and were released into the ocean. This process must comply with many regulations such as being done before 8am every day, when the sunlight is still gentle, the sand is not too hot and the waves are calm, helping turtles easily adapt and avoid many risks...
Although tourists are excited about the experience of releasing baby turtles into the sea, some wonder why they have to release baby turtles into the sea when they are still young, without raising them to raise them and then releasing them, or releasing them offshore, or in some protected and safe sea areas...
Responding to this issue, the representative of the National Park stated the reasons why baby turtles must be released into the sea early from the sand beach where they were born.
First of all, Con Dao National Park is not a place to raise turtles but only carries out conservation work, by supporting the egg to bloom, returning to the natural environment in the most suitable way, without breaking the natural law.
Because this is a wildlife species with the instinct to orient, the steps through the sandbank to return to the sea help turtles "remember" where they were born, so that later, when they are grown up (maybe decades later), they can return to the right place to breed and lay eggs.
Therefore, relocating the egg level helps reduce the risk of mother turtles mistakenly digging the nest to damage old eggs; being eaten by other animals; being affected by waves, high tides...
But if baby turtles are raised, released offshore..., this artificial condition can disrupt the memory chain, lose natural survival instinct, lose food instinct... in turtles. This leads to the risk of extinction of sea turtle species.
According to the National Park, in 2025, it is expected to record more sea turtles breeding in Con Dao than previous years. In May, the number of mother turtles in the nest was higher than in previous years. Conservation staff are working hard every night to do a good job of "reproducing" turtle maes and eggs to ensure safety and best development.
