Pawikan eggs saved

A PAWIKAN, believed to be of the endangered species hawksbill turtle, recently laid eggs at the Aboitiz Cleanergy Park in Punta Dumalag, Davao City.

It was about 1 p.m. last May 27 when Bobby Onin, former caretaker of the park and now a purok leader of barangay Punta Dumalag, noticed pawikan tracks on the sand while patrolling the park’s shoreline. He located the nest and immediately informed Davao Light and Power Co.’s Community Relations Department manager Fermin Edillon.

The eggs, which were laid in a densely vegetated area, needed to be transferred to a better location in the park so that the hatchlings will not be trapped by plant and tree roots. Thus, last May 30, the eggs were transferred to a new nest with fence built around it to protect the eggs from cats, dogs and humans.

The transfer led by Onin and Edillon was witnessed by barangay chairman Nestor Cirunay and kagawad Jimmy Poliquit. Assisting the transfer were Davao Light’s research contractors from the University of Southeastern Philippines, research director Dr. Helen Pondevida and her associate Dr. Larry Wong, and from the University of the Philippines Mindanao, research associate Kevin Labrador. They gathered data and took five eggs for sampling and DNA fingerprinting. The Davao Light team with members from the Geographic Information Systems Department took GPS coordinates of the nest as part of the documentation.

“The gathered baseline data can be used for measurement of the turtles’ survival rate and determining nest characteristics, among others. These will assist us on our studies of the turtles in the area and help us improve on or preserve the area’s natural condition for their survival,” Labrador said.

“Davao Light and the Aboitiz Group together with the local officials of barangay Punta Dumalag have made it a priority to protect the area from any destruction or disturbance that may cause the loss of the pawikans’ habitat,” Edillon said. “Seeing a pawikan lay eggs or hatchlings emerge from their nest and crawl to the sea are once in a lifetime opportunities that many especially our children, should be able to experience.”

The team will be back in Punta Dumalag after two months to gather data on the hatchlings.

The Aboitiz Cleanergy Park is a project of Davao Light and Power Co., a subsidiary of the AboitizPower, in partnership with the Aboitiz Equity Ventures with its social development arm, the Aboitiz Foundation. The area is suited for sustainability-inspired activities such as tree planting, coastal cleanup and mangrove planting.