There are more places in the world where people are trying to protect turtles.
Many of them try to do their best, but many don't know what "best" actually means. Sometimes they even hurt the turtles rather than help them. Support the nonprofit Save Turtle, which works to educate people - tourists and inexperienced conservationists alike - worldwide.
Small newly hatched turtles are locked in pools by some "conservationists" instead of being released into the sea. These turtles' muscles stunt in the pool, they can't swim, their lungs don't develop enough, they don't have natural food, and most importantly, they lose the instinct for where to return to lay their eggs in 20-30 years as adults.
Save Turtle therefore monitors sea turtle conservation centres in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and elsewhere in the world. They are trying to create a manual to help turtle conservationists do their work in a truly effective and meaningful way. It helps centers improve, travels to them for consultations, and invites them to work in sites where turtle conservation is being done right. It mentors conservationists to do direct turtle conservation well, not to use pools, and to dedicate themselves to educating children and working with local communities.
For hotels, resorts and tourist centers, there is a list of recommended turtle centers for hotels, resorts and tourist centers where protection is done effectively for turtles, thanks to the nonprofit Save Turtle. And at the same time, there are also lists of those "rescue" centers that are better avoided and not encouraged by your visit.
Not all methods of sea turtle conservation really help turtles. Thank you for preferring to visit projects where you can observe females naturally laying eggs or hatchlings running from the nest into the sea over places that keep hatchlings and healthy turtles in pools.
In Sri Lanka, for example, the following places are recommended to visit.
How can you help? Donate with VAKOVAKO!
Support the great nonprofit Save Turtle and help sea turtles survive. 100% of your donation will be used to fund conservation projects in Indonesia and Sri Lanka that will give hundreds of thousands of baby turtles a chance to hatch safely and boost the population of these endangered creatures.
Donate and become a tortoise shell to protect them from extinction!
