In the late afternoon sun, fifty baby turtles, barely the size of a seashell, scurried across Dusit Thani Maldives’ white sandy beach and made their way to the turquoise Indian Ocean.

Guests lined the beach, watching the tiny creatures scramble to the water. Leading the crowd in and cheering them on was Rebecca Bull, resident Marine Biodiversity Educator who closely monitored the Green Sea Turtle eggs since their nest discovery was made. While turtles tend to return to the very same beach that they themselves were hatched, it is hoped that the emerging hatchlings will imprint on Mudhdhoo Island and return in their in their maturity to lay their own eggs.

This year, these vulnerable sea turtles set a nesting record with only four weeks into nesting season. With a total of five nests on the island, this would set a record number of nests recorded on the resort. Two of the nests have already produced the first hatchlings of the year; over 100 juvenile Green Sea Turtles, whilst the resort is expecting approximately 200 hatchlings from the other three nests. Green Sea Turtles are listed as an endangered species globally, and listed in the Mediterranean as critically endangered. Therefore this rare and special sighting will make any guest’s vacation a memorable one.

This all came about when Sea Turtle tracks were discovered one bright morning making their way up the beach. The resort appointed employees to create “Turtle Camps” and guarded over the nest during incubation. Guests of all ages who were staying at the luxury resort during this time were invited to participate in the amazing phenomenon by witnessing the release of the newly-born turtles into the ocean.

Dusit Thani Maldives is fully committed to the care and protection of Sea Turtles in Maldives. The resort raises awareness, shares information to hotel guests and takes part in Turtle Conservation by helping to protect endangered sea turtle eggs and rehabilitating injured turtles back to full health for release.