Have you ever watched a sea turtle spawn? If haven’t, let me proposes you a place for that event.With water area of 14,000 ha, Con Dao has a very large sea turtle population. Every year, in the breeding season, there are thousands of sea turtles come ashore on a sandy beach to reproduce. It will be an exciting experience to directly witness and record the turtle dig hole and lay eggs.
According to information of Management Board of Con Dao National Park, in the first 7 months of 2013, Con Dao National Park welcomed over 8,000 arrivals, of which Vietnamese visitors account for 80%, holding stable in comparison with the same period last year.
Since 1995 up to now, more than 300,000 baby turtles have been released back into the sea and nearly 1,000 mature turtles have been tagged. Particularly, the turtles in Con Dao only breed at night. Therefore, the visitors have to stay up all night to watch the turtle dig nest and spawn. Sea turtles of Con Dao often nest from April to November; the peak months are around June to September. In addition, Con Dao National Park is also well-known for diversity of corals with mangroves ecosystem and storks. The connection of coral reefs, seagrass and mangroves creates a favorable environment for spawning, nursery and conservation of marine species.
Moreover, Con Dao National Park is also famous for green spaces, fresh air and charming long beaches.
At night, turtles crawl onto the sand to find suitable place on which to create a nest
The tourists are excited to watch the first eggs
After nesting, the mother sea turtle returns to the sea, leaving the eggs develop on their own
After 45 to 70 days (depending on the species), the hatchlings begin to pip, or break out of their eggs
Besides fauna and flora, Con Dao National Park also has a diversity of corals
The colorful coral reefs
4 deep sea corals
Mangrove system
Fascinating long beaches