Habaraduwa Turtle Hatchery

The Galle district is home to many sea turtle Hatcheries. These sea turtle hatcheries are undoubtedly among the best places to visit for all you nature and animal lovers.
Located in Habaraduwa (5km from the Galle-Matara road), the Sea Turtle Hatchery is a non-profit organization that has been established in order to conserve turtles. As a result it has become a popular tourist attraction in Galle. This organization was first established in 1986, in order to protect turtles from poachers and also to prevent their extinction. Since then, they have been able to release an innumerable amount of sea turtles to the deep sea. The Olive Ridley turtle, Loggerhead turtle, Green turtle, Hawksbill turtle and Leatherhead turtle are five species of sea turtles found in Sri Lanka and the Galle district and the Hambantota district serves as their nesting habitats. Since baby turtles are supposed to be released to the ocean within four days, visitors may get the opportunity to set them free by releasing them to the ocean. At present it is merely a team of four working at the Sea Turtle Hatchery. However they wish to expand their numbers and contribute even more towards the conservation of sea turtles.
The sea turtle hatchery in Kosgoda was first started 40 years ago and exists to date. While these turtles are under threat because of human activities such as fishing and hunting, the team at the Kosgoda turtle hatchery have taken action to prevent this by paying a certain amount per egg for fishermen who find these eggs. These eggs are then buried under the sand till they are ready to be hatched. Then they are put into a tank and after a few days the males are released into the ocean while the females are kept for a longer time (in order to increase their chances at survival).
There are turtle hatcheries in Hikkaduwa and Unawatuna as well. All dedicated to the same purpose; to conserve these sea turtles and to prevent their extinction.