- Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa Celebrated World Turtle Day with a Hawksbill Turtle Hatching -

May 2022 – The strikingly beautiful Silhouette Island in the Seychelles - of which 93% is a designated National Park, is not only home to the luxury Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa, but has long been home to critically-endangered Hawksbill turtles and Giant Tortoises. To celebrate World Turtle Day on 23rd May, the Island Conservation Society (ICS) who manage the conservation on the Island arranged for the children attending the Hilton Island Academy kid's club to visit the local nesting site and assist in protecting the hatchlings from predators, like crabs and birds, and to safely make their way to the sea.

In February 2022, the ICS team discovered a female Hawksbill turtle laying very close to an erosion zone at the high-water mark. She safely laid 116 eggs, and was gently tagged by ICS Conservation Officer, Nasreen - before returning to the sea. The nest was immediately relocated a few metres higher to a safer spot, to prevent it from being eroded away. Nest relocations are not recommended unless the odds of the turtles hatching are greatly affected by the location.

A few months later, the Hilton's Security Department alerted the ICS team that the nest was hatching. Disorientated, the hatchlings started making their way towards the village and away from the sea. The team dug a deep trench from the beach crest to the water's edge, and placed the hatchling in so that they would not veer off path again. 99 hatchlings succeeded in reaching the sea.

The following morning, the team returned to examine the nest. We were delighted to see that a few more turtle hatchlings were still emerging from the nest. The ICS team saw this as an ideal opportunity to invite the children attending Hilton's Island Academy to observe this incredible moment. It was a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness on sea turtles, especially on what to do during hatchling encounters. Gathered around the pit, the young explorers looked on patiently and learned they should never carry a baby turtle to the water as they could interfere with a process called natal philopatry, the ability of an adult female to return to the same beach she was born (hatched) on, to lay her eggs.

After the hatchlings emerged, the nest was carefully excavated. A total of 114 turtles successfully hatched, no undeveloped eggs were found, two hatchlings were still in the egg chamber but had been predated upon by crabs (which are a common predator for baby turtles as they can easily dig into the nest to feed on the developing embryos).

Nasreen Khan of ICS said; “One of the most important parts of a hatchling's life is the journey from nest to sea. This is where their strength and resilience start and when imprinting happens. Imprinting allows for adult females to lay her eggs on the same beach she hatched on. The long dangerous walk to the ocean is also vital for them to learn how to use their flippers before they hit the currents. It's like learning to walk before you run, they need to walk before they swim. It was a great learning experience for the children to witness this and to learn what to do if they saw hatchlings in the future. The children now have the tools, should they ever come across hatchlings on their way to the water again, and can now guide others on the do's and don'ts.”

The ICS team captured some video footage of the story from the mother laying her eggs to the hatchlings journey to the sea. Please click on the links below to view.

1. Hawksbill mama laying her eggs, the team counted the eggs and safely tagged her for long term monitoring - https://we.tl/t-8VSYVIZPUV
2. This is after she nested near an erosion zone and the team immediately relocated her nest to a safer spot few meters away - https://we.tl/t-MmCUNs8fXT
3. The Hilton security called us about turtle hatchlings moving through the village. They collected as many as they could find and put them in a basket and waited for ICS. Nasreen dug a trench to the sea so they would follow the path and not veer off - https://we.tl/t-VvJqL6FOp3
4. The team checked the nest in the morning and more turtles were hatching. They let them make their way to the ocean and kept a close eye on them, without putting them in the trench. This way they can learn to navigate the different terrain, and allow their flippers to have a range of motion for the ocean - https://we.tl/t-9JqSBZJMqi
5. ICS invited children from the Island Academy to take part in the nest excavation.  The rest of the hatchlings were put in the trench (a path from the nest to the ocean) for teaching purposes and for hatchling safety because of the crowd of children - https://we.tl/t-C11kWZKCUE

Giant Tortoise Sanctuary

Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa also opened a new Giant Tortoise Sanctuary this year, for the conservation of the island's population of Aldabra giant tortoises. With 10 juvenile giant tortoises currently residing at the resort, their new Sanctuary offers the growing titans more space with over 600 sqm, a pool, and elements of the natural environment they would find across Silhouette Island. The open-air area allows the tortoises to roam while also allowing guests a chance to see these rare animals like never before, in a habitat that mirrors their natural one while being safely protected until they are ready to be released. 

The Aldabra giant tortoise is an iconic and endemic species to the Seychelles; with wild tortoises roaming freely across the far side of Silhouette Island, as well as many other islands across the archipelago. Silhouette is designated as a National Park, and the ICS team along with the staff at Hilton Labriz work together to educate guests on the Aldabra giant tortoise, inviting visitors to learn about the myriad of wild animals and plants that the island supports, leading guided hikes to see the 8 free-roaming giant tortoises in their natural habitat, as well as releasing giant tortoises into the wild on Silhouette when they are mature enough.

Although hard to imagine, some of these behemoths have been at Hilton Labriz since they were tiny 10 cm hatchlings and the team at the resort have become quite attached to them. The new sanctuary has been a passion project for the resort and the enthusiasm of the staff to nurture these special animals is clear. Thomas Porter, Resort Manager at Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa remarked of the conservation project; “To survive, we must learn to coexist with nature in a dedicated but delicate approach. The tortoise sanctuary is our responsibility to help this species thrive.”

“Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa fully support the amazing work that ICS and the local community have achieved on Silhouette Island. We have thus far backed their incredible efforts and will continue to do so to ensure Silhouette remains a haven for rare indigenous flora and fauna. We look forward to seeing the Hawksbill turtle and giant tortoise population of Silhouette and the Seychelles continue to flourish,” stated Andre Borg, Area General Manager of Hilton Seychelles.

-Ends-

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