More than 50 loggerhead turtles hatch on Marbella beach with great expectations for more

The protected loggerhead turtle nest on Nueva Andalucía beach in Marbella continues to give life. In early July, sixty-nine eggs were laid in the sand and nine were sent to Bioparc to an artificial incubator. On Tuesday this week, thirty one little turtles hatched out of the sand and eight more hatched at Bioparc in Fuengirola. Then on Wednesday, another twenty eggs hatched out on Marbella beach.

All the baby turtles born so far have been transferred to the Andalusian Marine Environment Management Centre (CEGMA) in Algeciras, where they will remain in captivity for at least one year.

After the first few months under veterinary supervision in the facility, a percentage will be transferred to the Seville Aquarium and, finally, in the summer of 2024 they will return to their natural environment.

It is hoped that once they are adults, the females will again choose the Costa del Sol to lay their eggs, as this species always returns to the beaches where they were born to reproduce, a phenomenon called philopatry.

A security operation remains in place on the beach in Nueva Andalucía as there are still some eggs left to hatch. More than 240 volunteers have been guarding the nesting site in an operation coordinated by the Junta de Andalucía's Ministry of the Environment together with Marbella town hall and the ProDunas association. Councillor for Beaches, Diego López, thanked all the volunteers who responded to the town hall's safeguarding of the eggs call on 8 July.