An exciting tale concerning Maltese wildlife has been marred by an unfortunate and disappointing ending…

The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) has just revealed that the turtle nest at Ramla l-Hamra beach in Gozo has yielded no hatchlings.

This was the only known turtle nest to have been laid in Malta throughout summer 2022.

Taking to social media, ERA revealed how “veterinarians confirmed that the embryos had stopped developing when strong waves and currents submerged the nest.”

Efforts were made to transfer the eggs to an incubator, although these were unfortunately in vain.

“Nonetheless, ERA and Nature Trust – FEE Malta reiterate the importance of alerting the Authority or Nature Trust as soon as there is evidence of turtle nesting,” ERA continued.

The nest was discovered on 19th July after weeks of daily patrols by eNGO Wildlife Rescue Team Malta. After this, teams of volunteers were dispatched to keep a constant eye on the nest.

The morning after the nest’s discovery, officials from ERA and Nature Trust Malta had witnessed a turtle attempting to nest at Hondoq ir-Rummien – another Gozitan beach.

Unfortunately, the turtle’s attempts were unsuccessful.

“ERA thanks the volunteers, veterinarians, and the Nature Trust Malta and ERA officials who assisted in turtle nest monitoring and other related activities, as well as the entities concerned, including the Ministry for the Environment, Energy, and Enterprise, and the Ministry for Gozo,” the authority concluded.

ERA / Facebook