Madagascar Volunteer

Research & Conservation Institute

   
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Sea Turtle Visits Our Beach

sea turtle on our beach

This past week we had an exciting encounter on our home beach when a female green sea turtle came ashore! It is very common to see sea turtles swimming on our reef, however it is far from common for one to come ashore our beach. Our home beach is a small cozy little out cove of sand, perfect for sunbathing but not ideal for turtle nests due to the tide. The tide has the ability of covering our entire beach, meaning any nest laid on our beach would more than likely be drowned. Luckily the female turtle only scoped out our beach, but did not end up laying her nest on it.

Our next-door neighbors happened to be on the beach when the female came on land and they were lovely enough to alert us. She did not stay for long however so by the time our staff arrived she had already made her way back to the water. Our neighbors managed to grab a photo of the turtle which our staff was able to identify as a green sea turtle! We were bummed that we missed her but we were more than excited to get the information that a green sea turtle was checking out Nosy Komba as a nesting ground. In the past MRCI staff have been lucky enough to witness hawksbill sea turtles nesting on Nosy Komba but never a green sea turtle.

This encounter was very out of the ordinary for multiple reasons. One major one being that it was in the evening. Turtles are known to come a shore at night to nest, not while it is still light out. This fact led our staff to make the educated guess that she was probably caught off guard and a little desperate to come ashore before dark. Another fact that lead us to that assumption is that females tend to return to the beach they were born on to lay their own nests. As long as MRCI has been operational we have not had a nest on our home beach so it is most likely not where she was born.

sea turtle tracks

Sea turtles are facing major survival issues. Only 1 in 1000 sea turtles make it to adulthood making witnessing a turtle nesting a very special honor. According to traveltomadagascar.com, Illegal poaching is the number one threat to turtles, but there are also other human factors factors such as heavy coastal development. “Rising global temperatures also have a detrimental impact on sea turtles’ food and reproduction. The warmer temperatures and increased acidity of the oceans affect the survival of some of their food sources, such as molluscs.” Another major issue it that the gender of a sea turtle is dependent on the temperature of the sand the eggs are buried in.  If global temperatures continue to rise only female sea turtles will be born leaving no males to mate with.

If you are passionate about sea turtle conservation then check out our new

Volunteer Sea Turtle Monitoring Program!

Our sea turtle conservation volunteers live and work at our Turtle Beach Camp where there are known turtle nesting sites. Volunteers help collect data on the population, protect active nests, and help educate the local community about the issues facing the sea turtle population.

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Recent Posts

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Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute

2 days ago

Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute
Meet Solly, our much-loved Marine Conservation Officer.Solly’s dream is to become a PADI Diving Instructor.MRCI has undertaken to create this GoFundMe account in collaboration with Emily Borth to help Solly achieve his dream.Please donate and help us make Solly’s dream come true!The link can also be found in our story Highlights!https://gofund.me/176e591d ... See MoreSee Less

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Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute is at Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute.

2 weeks ago

Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute
Look at the goodies we just recieved! As our volunteers and staff know, getting new eqipment, spare parts etc. is a real challenge! Luckily, @lunamoonsailing just arrived from South Africa, with a “boat-load” of spare parts, new aluminium tanks, a new generator and many other things! It feels like Christmas morning!#Madagascarvolunteer #mrci #nosybe #nosykomba #lunamoon ... See MoreSee Less

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Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute is at Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute.

1 month ago

Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute
Thanks all for the funds that we received up until now ❤️ Solly has worked so hard to get where he is and we need your support now to achieving his final dream as a PADI Instructor in his professional diving career! 🎉If you feel like you could support Solly, click on the link below to donate! 🙏🏼🎉https://gofund.me/176e591d#madagascar #madagascarvolunteer #sollysdream #fundraiser #padiinstructor #PADIIDC2023 #PADIIDC2024 #paditv #localmarinebiologist #marineresearch #padiprofessional #futurecareer #gofundme ... See MoreSee Less

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Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute

2 months ago

Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute
Look at these cool finds from one of our recent drift dives! Have you ever seen a nudibranch feeding train? #madagascarvolunteer #madagascar #volunteer #volunteering #forlocal #saveplanet #saveocean #sustainable #volunteeringisfun #volunteeroftheweek #conservation #motivated ... See MoreSee Less

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2 months ago

Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute
Do you want to join our teaching program? We teach many different classes, at different levels and with many different age groups!In fact our classes are becoming so popular, that we have to double the number of classes per level! Join us via the link in our bio!#madagascarvolunteer #madagascar #volunteer #volunteering #forlocal #saveplanet #saveocean #sustainable #volunteeringisfun #volunteeroftheweek #conservation #motivated ... See MoreSee Less

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3 months ago

Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute
When we’re not exploring the island and surrounding reef, our volunteers prepare presentations to educate their fellow volunteers!Once presented on camp, we head to Be village, to present in a class filled with students who are eager to learn more about their surroundings!#madagascarvolunteer #madagascar #volunteer #volunteering #forlocal #saveplanet #saveocean #sustainable #volunteeringisfun #volunteeroftheweek #conservation #motivated ... See MoreSee Less

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Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute is at Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute.

3 months ago

Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute
Look at this cool find! We see some cool stuff on our sunrise dives - yesterday we found 28 nudibranchs! Some of them over 14cm! #madagascarvolunteer #madagascar #volunteer #volunteering #forlocal #saveplanet #saveocean #sustainable #volunteeringisfun #volunteeroftheweek #conservation #motivated #oceanconservation #marineconservation ... See MoreSee Less

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Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute is at Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute.

3 months ago

Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute
Sophie is teaching our local kids class🌞We love to see how the kids are so engaged and motivated to learn.To join our community program, check our link in bio! #madagascarvolunteer #madagascar #volunteer #volunteering #forlocal #saveplanet #saveocean #sustainable #volunteeringisfun #volunteeroftheweek #conservation #motivated ... See MoreSee Less

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Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute is at Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute.

3 months ago

Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute
Did you know we go on night hikes every week?Lots of creatures are mostly active at night and look at this cool find! #madagascarvolunteer #madagascar #volunteer #volunteering #forlocal #saveplanet #saveocean #sustainable #volunteeringisfun #volunteeroftheweek #conservation #motivated ... See MoreSee Less

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Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute is at Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute.

3 months ago

Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute
Meet our volunteer of the week Fionn! Along with forest officer Fedy and Donna, staff of the week!Fionn has been a great champion on Forest program and a great friend all around! 🦎#madagascarvolunteer #madagascar #volunteer #volunteering #forlocal #saveplanet #saveocean #sustainable #volunteeringisfun #volunteeroftheweek #conservation #motivated ... See MoreSee Less

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Contact Us

Madagascar Office: Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute, Home Sakalava, Rue R Tsiomeko, Hell-Ville, Nosy Be, Madagascar
Phone: +261 32 50 891 57
Office Hours: Please take note of the time zone differences when contacting us.
Email: volunteer@madagascarvolunteer.com

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Teaching | Marine Conservation | Forest Conservation | Combinations

Disclaimer:  We reserve the right to change our Volunteer Programs at any time, without prior notice.