Hatchlings have headed into the sea almost two months after they were laid in Arenales del Sol, Elche

This morning, the patience of volunteers who have been guarding a nest of turtle eggs on Carabassí beach, in Elche’s coastal district of Arenales del Sol, was finally rewarded.

A total of 58 baby loggerhead turtles hatched and have already felt the sea for the very first time, reported a spokesperson for marine conservation NGO Xaloc.

This magic moment comes just a week after 58 baby turtles were born on a beach in Denia, on August 18, from the second of four nests left there this summer by a female that Xaloc has named Diana.

Another 66 eggs hatched from the first nest in Denia on the night of August 2-3, and 37 from a previously undetected nest on Playa de Levante in Benidorm on August 6.

Camps to watch over the nests in Denia and Elche, in order to ensure they were not disturbed and see when the eggs hatch, were opened on August 1 and 22 respectively.

There were 77 eggs laid at Carabassí on July 4, of which seven were sent to the Oceanographic centre in Valencia, where they will be reared until they are big enough to have a better chance of surviving to adulthood after they are released into the sea.

This nest was spotted and reported to the emergency services by three youths who were out for a nighttime walk.

It was in a more urban area of the beach so the eggs were carefully moved to a safer, protected area.

That same day, samples and measurements were taken from the mother and a satellite tracker was fitted to her.

The procedure when turtle nests are reported includes contributions by the ministry for the ecological transition, the regional government environment department, Valencia university, Valencia polytechnic, the Oceanographic, Elche city hall and Xaloc, as well as more conservationists from Ecologístas en Acción based in Santa Pola and Elche.

Xaloc thanked them all, along with the volunteers and the local police.

The hatchlings were allowed to cross a few metres of sand before they reached the sea, which imprints their place of birth in their memory and increases the chance that they will return to Elche to lay their own eggs when they are grown up.

This is the fourth year that loggerhead turtles have laid eggs on beaches in Elche.

Their birth is not only good news for the conservation of a threatened species, but has raised awareness among residents, tourists and hikers passing by, who have been able to stop and ask the volunteers about the nest and its importance.

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