Welcome to the world, Hawksbill turtles hatch

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Photography and story by Baron Sekiya | Hawaii 24/7

The Big Island gave birth to 42 Honu‘ea (Hawksbill Turtles) Wednesday (Nov 11) as they hatched and swam up through the black sands of Punalu‘u Beach Park in Ka‘u.

The nest was one of five laid by a turtle which had been recorded travelling on the Kona side at Kiholo Bay in the past. The most common turtle at Punalu‘u is the Honu (Green Sea turtle) which can be seen swimming in the shallows and basking on the beach.

It may take a Hawksbill anywhere from 15 to 40 years to begin reproducing with the females returning to their nesting sites only every two to eight years. The Ka‘u coastline has over 90% of the documented nests for the Hawksbill which is an endangered species. Green Sea turtles nest on the Northwest Hawaiian Islands 700 miles away from the Big Island.

Will Seitz, Wildlife Research Supervisor, Hawaii Island Hawksbill Turtle
Recovery Project, briefed the crowd on the mother turtle and the hatchlings. The nests are surrounded by fencing and have been watched day and night by volunteers to prevent people and predators, like mongoose, cats and dogs from damaging the eggs.

This nest contained a total of 161 golf ball sized eggs buried at much as a foot below the surface which presented a challenge for the baby turtles to get out. The eggs began hatching earlier in the week with turtles headed for lights in the parking area at night prompting volunteers to guide them to the ocean. A total of 64 turtle hatchlings made it out of the nest on their own and it was the job Wednesday afternoon to excavate the nest uncovering the deeply buried eggs.

The fencing was removed, the crowd stares intently at the black sand being carefully swept aside by hands. Then a face poked out, keiki pointed, giggled and yelled ‘look it! I see it! I see it!’, people gasped, shot photos and grinned like kids on Christmas. The hatchlings climbed up and out of the sand and were placed in a plastic tub to show-off to the crowd.

A total of 42 hatchlings were freed from their nest and it was the keiki present that had the honor of releasing the Hawksbill keiki onto the sands of Punalu‘u to make their way into the ocean.

For more information about the Hawksbill turtles visit http://www.fpir.noaa.gov/PRD/prd_hawksbill.html

or call the Hawaii Hawksbill Turtle Recovery Project at (808) 985-6090

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