Turtle egg laying and hatching

One of Africa’s best spots for observing turtles laying eggs and hatching year-round (but especially April to October) is at Watamu, in Kenya. Green sea turtles and vulnerable olive ridley turtles both come to Watamu again and again to lay eggs, with hatching about 60 days later.

On Mozambique’s Vamizi Island, part of the Quirimbas Archipelago along the north coast, green turtles nest during December and July, peaking in March and June. The largest recorded green turtle population in Mozambique is found here, and it is protected by one of the longest-running conservation projects in East Africa.

Further south, in South Africa’s iSimangaliso Wetland Park, leatherback and loggerhead turtle nesting season takes place between November and March; nesting is during the first two months and hatching in the latter period. The two largest turtle species, both are classified as vulnerable.