Patrol officers from the Hon Ba Forest Ranger Station at Con Dao National Park spotted the turtle nesting on a beach near DK Cape.
The turtle came ashore at around 9 am, when the sun was already strong. A representative of Con Dao National Park said daytime nesting was very rare, as sea turtles typically come ashore to lay eggs between about 8 pm and 5 am.
The turtle had to dig three times before finding a suitable nesting spot because the beach was covered with hard coral rubble. It eventually laid 128 eggs.
After the turtle returned to the sea, forest rangers and staff from Six Senses Con Dao moved the eggs to a dedicated hatchery to maintain suitable temperature and humidity and protect them from predators and adverse weather.
Con Dao is one of Vietnam’s major sea turtle nesting grounds, with large numbers returning to lay eggs each year. Bay Canh Islet is the area’s main nesting site, particularly for green sea turtles.