Thousands of turtle hatchlings were released to their natural habitat under an initiative supported by the Commercial Bank of Ceylon to protect these endangered mariners and promote biodiversity.
In the past eight months alone, 8,490 hatchlings from 70 protected turtle nests in Panama in the Ampara District, were returned to the ocean through theBank-funded marine turtle conservation project of Wildlife and Ocean Resource Conservation (WORC) of Sri Lanka, a project Commercial Bank has supported since 2019.
The immediate objective of the project is protecting the nests and eggs of sea turtles within the identified territory from predators such as pigs, foxes, mongoose, spotted iguana, and dogs. With Commercial Bank’s participation, WORC expanded its efforts to three kilometres of previously unprotected beach last year and to another three kilometres this year.
The initiative benefits four species of turtles including the Videlicet Green, Olive Ridley, Loggerhead, and Leatherback turtles that call this stretch of beach their home. The success of the collaborative conservation activities last year inspired the Bank and WORC to extend the term of the MoU governing the project.
Commercial Bank’s support was instrumental in protecting seven turtle nests in September 2020, eight nests each in October, November, and December 2020, and 25, 29 and 25 nests from January to March this year.
The protection of nests persisted despite interruptions to night patrols, owing to frequent leopard visits at night in the past few months, according to the nest protectors.