At around 1am on Sunday morning, the first loggerhead turtle eggs began to hatch at Golden Bay, Mellieha.

The Malta Ranger Unit (MRU) took to Facebook to announce the news, saying that on 11 August, the hatchings of the first turtle nest of 2024 emerged during the night.

The MRU thanked Nature Trust - FEE Malta and Wildlife Rescue Team Malta and their volunteers who had been guarding the nests 24/7 since the first day.

The turtle nest was first found at Golden Bay in June of this year, being the first such nest discovered in 2024. Seven more loggerhead turtle nests were discovered following that, bringing the total number to eight.

Rangers from the MRU have been on site for three days to assist with crowd control during peak times for potential hatchings.

The MRU also thanked the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) officials who did "an amazing job during these times."

The hatchings of the first turtle nest of 2024 was also filmed and posted on the MRU's Facebook page, showing baby turtles making their way to the sea.

It was filmed with a night vision camera without any lights so as not to disturb the turtle hatchlings. The MRU said that only red lights were used.

Wildlife Rescue Team Malta also took to Facebook to announce the birth of the first turtle hatchlings of the year, saying that it had observed signs over this past week that the process had started.

In a post, the NGO said that a total of 32 hatchlings made their way to the sea over a period of 2.5 hours. It said that the nests will continue to be monitored over the next days and nights.

The NGO said that this nest, Nest 1, was laid on Saturday 15 June, with the hatching happening in the early hours of day 57.