A circle of life
At the very east side of Moheli is the beach of Itsamia. This is the place where almost every night, year round, the turtles emerge from the waters of the Indian Ocean to lay their eggs in the sand.
Laka Lodge can organise a visit to this park for you so that you can enjoy this extraordinary sight. The park is a protected area providing havens for turtles and their offspring. You will be accompanied in the park by one of our staff as well as a knowledgeable guide from the Association which is running and protecting the park. Tracking them is easy. These giants, which can weight up to 300 kilos and are 1.5 m long, leave distinctive tracks in the sand so you can’t miss them.
Moheli is one of the last reserves where the turtles regularly come to lay their eggs under full protection. It has been observed that turtles instinctively come to lay their eggs exactly to the same place where they were born thirty years ago. And they never make a mistake!
Each female lays about 100 eggs to the sand continuously every other day for few days every two years. About 60 days later the little turtles start to make their way to the see under the noon shine. This is a special experience well worth the visit. The chances of seeing the little turtles are very high as there is no particular season and the females lay their eggs throughout the year.
The little turtles are very vulnerable and what seem to be many in number of laid eggs only two percent of the hatched turtles reach their breeding age. Their predators are many ranging from birds, to prey fish to humans. However, thanks to the protection efforts on Moheli the turtles continue to come in large numbers and you are almost sure see some in action. With a bit of lack you may even see one in the night on the beaches of Laka Lodge.
Click here to download pricelist of excursions.