A nearly 100 kg green turtle with a Malaysian tag arrived at Bay Canh island in Con Dao to lay 108 eggs. The turtle crawled onto the sandy beach of Bay Canh island, dug a nest to lay eggs, late at night on April 22. Con Dao National Park rangers discovered the Malaysian tracking tag while assisting the turtle. Con Dao is approximately 550 km from the nearest Malaysian city, Kuala Terengganu.

According to a Con Dao National Park official, the turtle weighs 90-100 kg and is about 40 years old. The card it was wearing had the country intact, but other symbols were blurred so it was impossible to read all the information. Six years ago, a mother turtle with an Indonesian tag came to Con Dao to give birth. Last year, the beaches in Con Dao welcomed over 2,700 mother turtles to lay eggs.

The green turtle, also known as the Chelonia mydas, is one of the seven species of sea turtles that still appear and breed in Con Dao. Con Dao district serves as the main breeding ground for 90% of turtles in Vietnam. From 2018 to 2023, more than 145,000 baby turtles will be hatched here, all given tracking tags by Con Dao National Park before being released into the sea.

Among the seven recorded species of sea turtles are green turtles, big-headed turtles, flat shell turtles, tortoiseshells, leatherback turtles, pineapple tortoises, and Kemp’s ridley turtles. All seven species are listed in CITES Appendix I, and all species (except the flat-shelled turtle) are listed in Appendixes I and II of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS).