The Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO)-Taytay-El Nido recently rescued and released two marine turtles in Bgy. Sibaltan in the Municipality of El Nido.
According to a Facebook post of the said office yesterday, May 11, their enforcement personnel and the Coast Guard Sub-Station (CGSS)-El Nido personnel had rescued two Green Sea Turtles (Chelonia mydas) or commonly called “pawikan” in the Philippines last May 8 in the aforementioned barangay and were also released on that day. The authorities measured first the animals prior to their release to the sea as also showed on their posted photos.
The DENR-CENRO Taytay-El Nido added that according to the World Wildlife Organization (WWF), Green Sea Turtles are listed as endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as well as in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
The said marine animals have an 80 years and above average lifespan and can grow up to five feet and weigh up to more than 300 kilos.
“Adult Green Sea Turtles are hervibores while as juveniles, they also eat invertebrates like crabs, jellyfish, and sponges,” DENR-CENRO Taytay-El Nido further added. The hervibore animals only eat plants and grass while the invertebrates are animals belong to the Kingdom Animalia that has no vertebrates or backbones.