LEGAZPI CITY—Eighteen olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) hatchlings were released to the ocean Monday at Sibago village in Donsol town, Sorsogon province, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines.
The environment and conservation trust, formerly called World Wildlife Fund, released the hatchlings at 5 p.m. with Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute (Lamave) Philippines, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Bicol and Donsol officials.
Olive ridleys are listed as “vulnerable” in the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Nature Resources (IUCN) Red List. A vulnerable status means that without human intervention, the species may face extinction.
“Only 1 percent of turtles survive into adulthood,” Manuel Narvadez, Donsol project manager for WWF Philippines, told Inquirer in an online interview.
Threats to turtles, he said, included big species of fish, birds of prey and crabs.
There has been no record of olive ridleys dying after swallowing plastics in Donsol, he said.