Rangers of Indonesia’s Thousand Islands Marine Park Work in Isolation to Monitor Hawksbill Turtle Nests
For over 20 years, dedicated rangers have been caring for the protected zone off Jakarta’s north coast. They spend three weeks of each month without Internet access or electricity on the uninhabited islet of Penjaliran Timur - where they monitor critically endangered Hawksbill Turtle nests.
Penjaliran Timur is part of Penjaliran’s restricted zone - and home to the critically endangered Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), whose favorite nesting grounds include the beaches of Peteloran Timur and Peteloran Barat (also uninhabited and in the restricted zone).
Using a wooden paddle boat, an important part of the rangers’ daily routine is to travel the relatively short distance from Penjaliran Timur to the nesting areas in order to collect newly laid Hawksbill Turtle eggs. The precious eggs are brought back to Penjaliran Timur, where the rangers carefully bury them in the sand near the guard post, to keep them safe from poachers.
But despite daily heroic efforts, the rangers are not always successful at rescuing the Hawksbill Turtle eggs: Although they can spot the poachers through binoculars from Penjaliran Timur, by the time they reach the nesting grounds via wooden paddle boat, the poachers are long gone - using speedboats.
