Stray dogs in the Philippines hunt sea turtle nests, so these volunteers stay up all night shooing them away

San Vicente in Palawan, Philippines, is a crucial nesting spot for Olive Ridley sea turtles. These turtles and their eggs face many dangers. Stray dogs are a big threat, but rising sea levels, stronger storms, and tourism plans also cause problems.

The Large Marine Verteates Research Institute Philippines (LAMAVE), a local non-profit, runs a project to protect these turtles. They work with paid patrollers to watch over turtles and their nests. Community involvement is a key part of their efforts.

Protecting Nests from Dogs

Jerald Mahusay grew up in Santo Niño, a village in Palawan. As a child, he and his friends often played with turtle eggs, not knowing how important they were. Now, Mahusay works as a patroller for LAMAVE. He was promoted to head of the local patrol unit and research assistant for their turtle project.

Santo Niño is a vital nesting ground for Olive Ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea), which are listed as vulnerable. The biggest threat to these turtles is the large number of stray dogs. Climate change also brings higher tides and more frequent storms. Plans for mass tourism development in the area add another layer of concern.

During peak nesting season, volunteers and local patrollers walk over five miles in five shifts every night and early morning. When they find a turtle, they wait for her to finish nesting, shooing away dogs. Before she returns to the water, they measure her shell, photograph her unique head pattern (like a fingerprint), and take a small tissue sample for genetic testing.

Sometimes, they find turtles injured by dogs, bleeding with fins torn. In these sad cases, they wait for the turtle to die, then remove the eggs to take them to a hatchery. Researcher Klara Simon noted that while it's difficult, "at least her babies survive."

When patrollers find a nest, they carefully dig up the eggs, count them, and move them to a hatchery. In past seasons, almost all nests left on the beach were eaten by dogs or flooded by tides.

Inside the hatchery, eggs are placed in small, netted circles in the sand, mimicking their original nests. Researchers check on them every few hours daily.

About two months later, the eggs hatch. In the early mornings or evenings, researchers and patrollers take the hatchlings to the shore. The baby turtles then crawl to the West Philippine Sea. Scientists believe this crawl helps them take a "geomagnetic imprint," allowing them to return to this region when they are adults.

Only about one in 1,000 hatchlings survive to adulthood. A survivor will spend up to 15 years at sea before returning to the island where it was born to lay its own eggs.

Addressing the Dog Problem

The stray dog population is the biggest threat to the turtles. Many dogs are cared for by residents, while others are strays. It's hard to tell the difference because there are no veterinarians in the area, so microchipping, spaying, and neutering are uncommon.

While a Philippine law requires dogs to be registered and vaccinated, enforcement is up to local governments. San Vicente has an ordinance against strays and authorizes an animal shelter, but it's not enforced due to a lack of resources.

Researchers have looked for other solutions. They noticed many dead turtles and predated nests in one beach area. They spoke to Reymundo Munding, who owns eight dogs and lives on the land. Project leader Kalei Suza said they included him in the patrols.

Munding, who has lived on the property for 15 years, sometimes fishes at night, leaving his dogs out to protect his family. One morning, patrollers found a dying turtle near his property. They waited five hours for it to die. When Munding saw the turtle and the patrollers' dedication, he was heartbroken and asked how to stop it.

Munding agreed to let LAMAVE build a fenced area on his property to keep his dogs contained at night. However, many residents don't want their dogs fenced. So, for now, human intervention remains vital for hatchlings to survive.

Facing Storms and Development

Storms and high tides are another growing threat. Suza noted that typhoons are not natural for Palawan, but climate change is causing more direct hits. In January, researchers recorded the high tide during a typhoon. They found that if nests hadn't been moved, they would have flooded.

Suza explained that while these animals have evolved to survive many natural calamities, human presence adds new threats.

San Vicente has also seen more tourism. Luxury developers have bought large plots of land for beachfront resorts. Residents have mixed feelings about this development, feeling "excited, but sometimes nervous," according to Mahusay.

Hope for the Future

Despite the challenges, researchers are hopeful, especially about community involvement. Researcher Emelie Gottschling recalled a local patroller coming on his day off to report a nest found by other locals. They had covered the nest with a blanket and stones to protect it from dogs. Together, they relocated the nest.

Roldán Valverde, scientific director of the Sea Turtle Conservancy, said relocating eggs to hatcheries should be a last resort. However, he noted that LAMAVE's program, with its photo identification and genetic data, could offer valuable insights into Olive Ridley turtle movements.

LAMAVE's data shows about 75% of eggs hatch in their facilities. This compares to 80% or more for undisturbed nests on the beach. Suza emphasized that hatchery management isn't the final goal. "We still want the turtles to nest in their regular, natural place," she said. "But it calls for an expansion of community efforts. We need people to know and own the responsibility of taking care of the turtles."

The researchers hope that when a hatchling returns to San Vicente's white beaches, it will find a place where it and its offspring are protected.