Nearly 50,000 baby sea turtles reached the sea last year from beaches in five specially protected zones on Turkey’s shores. Female turtles built 1,451 nests, a figure up by 300 compared to the previous yearLast year, a total of 48,400 newborn loggerhead turtles (caretta carettas) survived their first trek to the sea in specially protected zones such as Köyceğiz-Dalyan, Fethiye-Göcek, the Göksu Delta, Belek and Patara.  According to data obtained from Environmental Protection Agency for Special Areas by Anatolia news agency reporters, out of the 17 beaches that have been determined as nesting grounds for loggerhead turtles, these five beaches happen to lie inside the specially protected zones.In the protected areas, research was carried out to find ways to overcome, through education and raising awareness, the intersection of tourism activities with loggerhead turtle nesting grounds. Those adult female turtles that were laying eggs on beaches were marked, measured and categorized. Their nests were also recorded, as well as their GPS positions. The nests were then monitored to collect data for predation, hatching and the number of babies. During the research, several cameras, both film and photographic, were installed on the beaches to monitor mammals and other living creatures that attacked the nests at night. Records revealed that it was jackals, foxes and dogs that damaged the nests of the loggerhead turtles. Moreover, artificial lighting on the beaches, the study showed, mislead the baby turtles and made them head in the wrong direction. Baby loggerheads are naturally led to the sea by moonlight. Largest number in BelekAccording to the data obtained after monitoring the loggerhead turtles in the protected areas, last year out of the 160 caretta carettas that returned to the beach in the Fethiye-Göcek protected zone, 95 built nests and laid 7,695 eggs. Babies crawled out of 63 nests and 4,949 made it to the sea. In the Köyceğiz-Dalyan zone, out of the 1,005 caretta carettas, 354 built nests and laid 26,682 eggs. Some 132 nests were completely destroyed by predators and another 89 were damaged. The number of baby turtles that reached the sea was 13,961.In the Belek zone, 1,257 loggerhead turtles returned to the beach, and 703 of them built nests and laid approximately 50,000 eggs. Some 20,000 of the babies reached the sea. In the specially protected zone in Patara in the Mediterranean province of Antalya, 301 caretta carettas and nine green sea turtles returned to the beach and built 117 nests. The loggerheads laid 7,898 eggs and the green sea turtles laid 70 eggs. Out of them, 5,450 loggerhead babies and 19 green sea turtle babies reached the sea. In the Göksu Delta zone, 694 caretta carettas, 62 green sea turtles and seven Nile turtles crawled onto the beach. Some 185 Caretta Caretta, 23 green sea turtle and one Nile turtle nests were built. All together the turtles laid 12,000 eggs, but only 4,026 babies were able to reach the sea.According to data, in the five specially protected zones, out of the total 3,194 turtles that returned to the beaches, 1,478 built nests and then laid 104,886 eggs. Out of these nests, 48,400 baby turtles were able to reach the sea.Number of nests according to yearsThere are eight species of sea turtles in the world. Five of them live in the Mediterranean. Caretta carettas, Nile turtles and green sea turtles are known to build nests on Turkey’s beaches. Studies show that the species that builds the highest number of nests on Turkey’s beaches is the caretta caretta with 1,406 in 2006; 1,462 in 2007; 1,106 in 2008; 1,156 in 2009; and 1,451 in 2010.