PHUKET: A leatherback turtle laid eggs on a beach on the island of Phuket for the first time this year on Friday, and only the fourth on the Andaman coast this breeding season.
Residents Ban Nai Thorn in Thalang district saw the reptile laying eggs on the beach about 6.30am, took photos and informed their village chief.
"This is a good sign for Nai Thorn beach," village chief Thanapong Kuanoon said.
Officials of Sirinat National Park and the Phuket Marine Biological Centre later examined the nest and found 104 eggs, and only 12 of them infertile.
Centre director Kongkiat Kittiwattwong said the turtle weighed about 300 kilogrammes and was the first sea turtle to breed this year on the island. Three turtles previously laid eggs on beaches in neighbouring Phangnga, he added.
As the beach could be flooded by high tide and the area was difficult to monitor, officials moved the eggs to the park beach in Thalang of Phuket.
Workers will be assigned to take care of them around the clock, park officials said.
Sea turtle eggs are often targeted by thieves, who stole some from Khao Lampi-Hat Thai Muang National Park in Thai Muang district of Phangnga last Saturday.