Park officers patrolling the beach found turtle tracks in the sand at about 1am yesterday (Dec 27).
Officers estimated that the turtle, believed to have been a leatherback, had a shell some 70-80cm wide and a flipper span of about 140-150cm.
The officers soon found the nest, buried about 60cm deep, containing 122 eggs. Eighty of the eggs had been fertilised, the remaining 42 were ‘hollow’.
As the nest was at risk of flooding by seawater, the officers moved the eggs to in front of the tourist service centre at the beach, where they will be safe from the high tide and watched over by park officers and staff.
Officers expect the turtles to hatch in 55-60 days, sometime between Feb 19-24.
The first leatherback turtle nest found in the area for this egg-laying season was discovered at the northern end of Thai Muang Beach on Dec 8. The nest contained 84 fertilised eggs.
A second leatherback turtle nest was found on the same beach last Saturday (Dec 23), containing 73 fertilised eggs.
Another leather back turtle nest was found at the nearby Tha Sai Beach at Na Toei on Dec 18.