The First Mother Turtle of 2026 Has Arrived: What Happens During a Turtle Nesting Encounter?
- Conservation Bubbles
- May 31
- 4 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
We've been waiting a long time to write this!
After almost 2 months without a single nest, the first mother turtle of the 2026 season finally came ashore at Tanjung Tukas bay, Perhentian Island on 21st May 2026 at 9:07pm.
She has laid a total of 99 eggs.
For our team, this was more than just the first nest of the year. It marked the beginning of another turtle nesting season and the culmination of weeks of nightly patrols, habitat monitoring, and preparation.
This year, the season started later than usual.
Why Has the Turtle Season Been Slower This Year?
If you've been following our updates, you'll know that April passed without a single nest being recorded at our beach.
While it may seem unusual, this is not necessarily a cause for concern.
Sea turtles, particularly green turtles, do not nest every year. After a busy nesting season, many females take time to recover and rebuild their energy reserves before returning to lay eggs again.
Last season, Bubbles Turtle Conservation recorded 201 nests, making it one of our busiest years on record. As a result, we anticipated that the 2026 season could begin more slowly.
Nevertheless, every night our team continued beach patrols, waiting for the first signs of turtle activity.
Meet the First Mother Turtle of the Season
At 9:07 PM, our patrol team spotted a female green turtle digging her body pit before starting to excavate her egg chamber.
Here is a timeline of her nesting process:
Found: 9:07 PM
Body Pitting: 9:07 PM
Chambering: 9:17 PM
Egg Laying: 9:34 PM
Covering Nest: 9:57 PM
Returned to Sea: 11:15 PM
Measurements recorded by our team included:
Average Curved Carapace Length (CCL): 96.0 cm
Average Curved Carapace Width (CCW): 82.3 cm
Total eggs laid: 99
Why Every Intern Was Woken Up
At Bubbles Turtle Conservation, our interns work in rotating shifts throughout the night.
Normally, only the patrol team on duty would respond to a nesting turtle.
However, this was the first mother turtle of the season.
After weeks of empty beaches and no nesting activity, we made the decision to wake every intern so they could witness the moment.
For many of them, it was their first time seeing a wild sea turtle nesting.
Eco-Resort Guests Gets Woken Up to Witness Nesting Turtle
Once the mother turtle has finished laying her eggs, one of the traditions at Bubbles Turtle Conservation begins.
Guests staying at Bubbles Dive Resort who have expressed interest in turtle conservation are gently woken up and invited to witness the final stages of the nesting process - watching the mother turtle carefully cover and disguise her nest before making her journey back to the ocean.
As turtle nesting and hatchling releases often occur in the middle of the night, guests can indicate their interest by hanging a turtle sign outside their room. This allows our team to know who would like to be notified when a turtle encounter takes place.
Before heading to the beach, guests receive a short briefing on turtle behaviour and responsible wildlife viewing practices.
They are then guided in small groups by our conservation team to ensure the experience is both educational and minimally disruptive to the turtle.
At Bubbles, the welfare of the turtle always comes first.
To minimise disturbance and stress, guests are only brought to the beach after the mother turtle has completed laying her eggs. This allows visitors to witness an incredible natural event while ensuring the turtle can nest successfully and return safely to the sea.
How Do We Identify Individual Mother Turtles?
One of the most common questions we receive is: "How do you know if this turtle has nested here before?"
At our site we use facial identification. Just like human fingerprints, the scale patterns on the sides of a turtle's face are unique to each individual.
By photographing and comparing these patterns, we can identify whether a turtle has previously nested at our beach.
This allows us to build records of individual nesting mothers over time and better understand nesting behaviour and seasonal trends.
For this year's first mother turtle, our records indicate that she is either a first-time nester at our beach or a turtle that has not previously been documented here.
UPDATE (2nd June 2026): The team has later identified that it's a returning mother turtle that has nested at our beach in 2015 and 2021.
Why Do We Collect This Data?
Every nesting encounter provides valuable information.
During a nesting event, our team records data such as:
Date and time of nesting
Nest location
Curved carapace measurements
Number of eggs laid
Facial identification photographs
These records help build a long-term picture of turtle nesting activity at our beach. All data collected is compiled and submitted to the Department of Fisheries Malaysia.
Working Together with the Department of Fisheries Terengganu, Malaysia
Bubbles Turtle Conservation operates under a permit issued by the Department of Fisheries Terengganu (DOF).
This permit allows us to carry out turtle conservation activities at our bay and collect nesting data on behalf of the Department.
Through this collaboration, our team contributes to the monitoring and protection of sea turtles while supporting broader conservation efforts in Malaysia.
The information gathered by our conservation team and interns becomes part of a larger effort to understand and protect sea turtle populations.
Hands-on Conservation
While data collection is an important part of what we do, Bubbles Turtle Conservation is not a research institution or science centre.
Our primary focus is practical, hands-on conservation.
This includes:
Protecting turtle nesting habitats
Conducting nightly beach patrols
Monitoring and safeguarding nests
Raising awareness about marine conservation
Supporting responsible eco-tourism
Providing conservation internships and experiential programmes
Our goal is simple: Create a safe environment where turtles and humans can live in harmony.
Interested in Becoming a Turtle Conservation Intern?
For many of our interns, seeing their first nesting turtle becomes one of the highlights of their time on the island.
However, turtle conservation involves much more than wildlife encounters.
Interns participate in beach patrols, habitat protection, data collection, conservation outreach, and environmental education activities throughout the season.
The first mother turtle of 2026 is a reminder that conservation often requires patience. Weeks of preparation can pass before a single turtle appears, but when she does, every patrol and every late night suddenly feels worthwhile.
As the season continues, we look forward to welcoming more nesting mothers to Tanjung Tukas and sharing their stories with you.
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