Eggs from a leatherback turtle found dead on a Phangnga beach last month were poised to hatch last night.
Assoc Prof Thorn Thamrongnawasawat, a marine expert at Kasetsart University, wrote on Facebook yesterday that an egg was beginning to sink in on itself, a sign they may soon hatch.
"[One hatchling] is wriggling its head, a sign that it will emerge [from its egg] tonight along with dozens of [other] hatchlings," he wrote. "In the past six years, more than 2,000 turtles have hatched on Andaman beaches, but this nest is different because the mother died."
He was referring to a dead female turtle that washed ashore on Jan 22 on a beach near a national park protection unit office in Phangnga's Thai Muang district. Its flippers and neck were entangled in a fishing net.
The hatching eggs were laid two months prior.
The final eggs of a leatherback turtle. One of them showed signs of life. Khao Lampi-Hat Thai Mueang National Park