The Philippines is home to five species of marine turtles, known as "pawikan", and most species are threatened due to poaching and other activities. At the Pawikan Conservation Center in Morong, Bataan Philippines, I learned much about turtle conservation and released 41 baby turtles into the ocean.
The Pawikan Conservation Center located in Morong is run by locals who work purely as volunteers - and they actually used to be poachers! Realising the need for conservation and education, they organized themselves into an association and have been running the center since 1999. Every night they patrol the shore, collect and move eggs to protected areas and release the baby turtles once they hatch. To date, they have released over 70,000 hatchlings safely into the sea. With an estimate of only 1% of hatchlings making it to adulthood, every single egg really makes a difference.
All species of pawikan (sea turtle) are considered endangered and an amazing thing is that females always go back to lay eggs in the same beach where they were born - they know EXACTLY where it is 30 years later!
It took my breath away to see these little things float out into the sea. A must-see if you're in the area!
