A loggerhead turtle laid eggs on July 9 on a beach in Marseillan-Plage (Hérault). This is the second time that a loggerhead turtle has ventured onto the French shores of the Mediterranean this year to lay its eggs: the first time was on the night of July 2 to 3, on a beach of Villeneuve-Loubet (Alpes-Maritimes).
In the Hérault, walkers, witnesses of this rare event, alerted the firefighters and the municipal police of Marseillan-Plage. “She was able to lay eggs, cover her nest and then return to the Mediterranean”, indicate the services of the Marine Protected Area of the Agthoise Coast, on their Facebook page. A security perimeter has been set up around the nest, to prevent it from being trampled. Information panels have also been installed. Egg hatching should take place at the end of August.
A laying, last year, in Valras-Plage
It’s rare for a loggerhead turtle to lay eggs on a French Mediterranean coast, because “between pollution, catches in fishing gear, crowded and paved beaches, [les tortues] lost a lot of space,” confided last year to 20 minutes Lamya Essemlali, the president of Sea Shepherd France, when a turtle had laid eggs in Valras-Plage. This event is all the more rare since this mother turtle came to lay eggs last year on a beach that is very busy during the day, surrounded by street lamps and neon signs. “I couldn’t believe it, we are looking for a place to spread out our towel, is surprised Lamya Essemlali. This is also why it is miraculous. It must be said that it has not always been rare. It was the cumulative impacts of human activities that made the event rare. »
The mother turtle who laid eggs in Marseillan-Plage will not return to collect her young. The babies will join, alone, like adults, the sea, a few meters from the nest.