MALLORCA – Nearly 200 turtle eggs have been found on various popular and therefore busy beaches in Mallorca. Normally, sea turtles do not lay their eggs on crowded beaches. However, the fact that they do now could be related to climate change.
According to the Palma Aquarium, 82 eggs were discovered in Cala Millor. The Balearic Islands conservation authority Cofib mentions some of the eggs have been taken to a lab to hatch, while the rest remain deposited and under constant surveillance on the beach. The first turtle hatchlings are expected to hatch at the end of July. Previously, students had found a nest containing 106 loggerhead turtle eggs (Caretta caretta) on Palma’s city beach.
An increase in egg-laying expected
What some media on Mallorca consider a “sensation” is attributed by experts to the warming of the oceans – due to man-made climate change. There may be an increase in egg-laying in the coming years. This is because sea turtles normally return to the beach where they hatched themselves to lay their eggs.
Animals seek out cooler waters
Normally, the reptiles nest in the eastern Mediterranean on beaches in Greece, Cyprus and southern Turkey. The animals have probably sought cooler waters because of the continued rise of the sea surface temperature in recent years. However, the sea off Mallorca is currently unusually warm, at around 28 degrees Celsius, due to a new heat wave.
Also read: Surface water of the sea in Spain is 3 degrees above normal
Hawksbill turtles Costa Blanca
At the beginning of July, we also wrote about the arrival of the Caretta caretta turtles to the beaches of the Costa Blanca to lay eggs. Eggs were found in Denia, Elche and Orihuela. There, the campaign “Here we save turtles” has been set up by the Oceanogràfic Foundation, the Aquarium of Seville and the Azul Marino Foundation. This summer, it will travel along 80 coastal municipalities to inform people how to act if they see eggs.
