Bar owner rounds up turtle hatchlings

BANG TAO: Local bar owner Tony Somrak discovered 95 Olive Ridley hatchling turtles on the beach in front of the Banyan Tree Resort late last night. “This is the first time that I’ve seen turtles hatch,” Tony told the Gazette, “and it was only because we had a small family picnic on the beach last night. When I went back to my bar, I found a small turtle walking around. Then I turned around to see lots more turtles emerging from the sand.” Worried that some of the baby turtles might be eaten by predators if they went straight into the sea, Tony and his family turned the little animals upside down to make them stay put. “I called the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) and they came and collected the turtles this morning,” Tony said. The turtles will be cared for by the PMBC until the Songkhran festival, three months from now, when they will be released into the sea by the Laguna Resort at Bang Tao. Sea turtles are protected by Thai law. It is illegal to possess or sell turtle shells or eggs.