Alagadi Turtle Beach

Turtle Watching in North Cyprus

Can you imagine a sight more heart warming than watching baby turtles, newly hatched from their little eggs, running towards the wavy seas as they face their new life?  This is a common occurrence that you can take part in to watch in certain beaches in North Cyprus. The mother turtle will typically come to shore in the middle of the night to lay her eggs, after she has left her 20th birthday behind and is mature enough to mate. The mother turtle visits the North Cyprus shores during the spring month of May to furiously dig down a 40cm deep hole in the sand, where she hide her eggs and keep them protected with a covering of the cool sand until July. The mother turtle’s job is now complete until the baby turtles hatch in July, where they have been developing amidst the cool sands where air is trapped.
Hatching Sea Turtles in Cyprus

In June, two months later, the baby turtles escape from their little holes in the coolest times of the day, in a hectic rush to reach to the sea and begin their life.
The first thing a newly hatched baby turtle does is head towards the nearest light it can see, which means we usually see them scuttling off towards the sea as they see the moons reflection in the sea. However, sadly, this can not always be the case, as most beaches now have buildings and other developments taking place on the coastline, which confuses the newly hatched turtles, causing them to take the wrong direction and most likely not survive. North Cyprus takes great pride in protecting these turtles and has created a safe haven for over 300 green turtles and countless loggerhead turtles by providing special beaches for them to lay their eggs.
Turtle nesting sites in North Cyprus

The green and loggerhead turtles are listed under the endangered species list, and North Cyprus is working very hard to help protect these gentle creatures. SPOT has joined forces with interested and caring groups from a number of British universities to watch the turtles progress and help the baby turtles safely reach the ocean on various beaches in Kyrenia and the Karpaz peninsula.

Turtle Watching on Alagadi Beach

If you would like to get a little closer and observe these fascinating turtles, by joining the Society for the Protection of Turtles (SPOT), located in Alagadi on Turtle Beach. During your time with SPOT, you will be able to help the turtles by joining the team on their nightly patrols of the sandy beach and also watch on as the team make surveys night and dawn on the turtle everyday to keep up to date with the latest occurrences. For more information, visit the beach side information centre for a full list of upcoming SPOT activities.

Turtle Protection in North Cyprus

The Department of Environmental Protection has recently announced that beach visits taking place between May and October during the hours between 10pm and 8am are prohibited. Also, fires, all lights and speedboats within a mile of the shore are not allowed. If you would like to increase the survival rate of these endangered species, do not throw any type of plastic bags in the sea as the turtles mistake them for jellyfish and choke on the plastic after trying to eat them.

If you are turtle mad and would like to keep track of them 24/7 this is the web site to go to: http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/

For any enquiries call the turtle protection society: 00 90 392 815 2496 or 00 90 392 815 5135

Help with Turtle Conservation in North Cyprus

To prove you are a dedicated environmentalist, why not join the researches to lend a much needed helping hand? Be warned, it is a tough job where you would have to get used to sleeping on a camp bed for up to 8 weeks and walking up to 20km every day while searching for turtles!
For more information go to: http://www.seaturtle.org/mtrg/projects/cyprus/volunteer/