JTP Turtle Talk (4)

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3


Meet Jo, a 5 year old green sea turtle that we take care of. Jo was born in our hatchery in 2006. When we went to release her in the sea with her other brothers and sisters, she was found running in circles on the sand because of a weak arm. That's when we realized that something is wrong with her and a close inspection also revealed that she has no eyes. She was born this way probably due to some kind of genetic or developmental anomaly from mistreatment of the egg while transfering from the original nest. A turtle without eyes will not survive in the ocean or on land. This is just natures way of making sure that only the fittest individuals survive. So by keeping her in our sanctuary we are not tampering with the natural course here.

JTP Turtle Talk (3)

Part 1
Part 2

The way we try to protect turtle eggs is by bringing them to an enclosed hatchery until the baby turtles hatch. This is not ideal, it is much better to leave the eggs in place where they were laid, but that is not possible here now. Still a hatchery should always be viewed as a temporary feature, not a solution. It is better to have the entire area protected and not need to take, or hide, the eggs.

JTP Turtle Talk (2)

Part 1

So what do we do at JTP ? We focus on sustaining the turtle population, habitat defence and raising awareness. This brings us to understand and work with the nature, people, economy and politics of this island. We are not hippies or treehuggers, we are working toward a specific goal here. We work toward not having to run a conservation effort like this because people will be conscious and protective of nature around them and wild life in the area including sea turtles.

JTP Turtle Talk (1)

Charlie doing the turtle talk

I volunteered in the Juara Turtle Project for a month in June 2011. Every morning and evening we would give a 45 minutes long 'Turtle Talk' to interested tourists, followed by a tour of the hatchery and a chance to meet Jo - the blind Gree turtle that JTP have been taking care of since 2006.