Wednesday, Feb 6, 2008

"ALL YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT GREEN SEA TURTLES BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK"

First, let me introduce you to Brutus, on the right and seen in yesterday's blog, and Scallop. Brutus was already basking on the beach when I arrived today, and Scallop joined him a while later. I don't know why Brutus got his name--maybe his size. He weighs about 187 lbs and is between 35-40 years old. Scallop got her name because of the little scallop shape on the back end of her shell.

The weather was fantastic today, so when I arrived at Turtle Beach--really Laniakea Beach--(Lani akea) there were already many people there "turtle watching". After about 1/2 hour, Scallop began making her way up the beach. It's a very slow process, with many rest breaks, but she finally succeeded in getting where she wanted to go.

As is to be expected, almost everyone on the beach had a camera. Who could resist this sight anyway. The cameras ran the gamut from cell phones to high end slrs. But everyone was having a grand time watching the action (I somehow think that the words "turtle" and "action" in the same sentence might actually be an oxymoron).

This is the trail that Scallop left behind her as she made her way up the beach. I guess they continue till they get to dry sand, probably because of the warmth of it.

One of the researchers was on site today. He was excited to see the turtles because he was ready and waiting to measure them in order to record their growth since the last time they came ashore.

In yesterday's post, you saw the red rope that is laid out around a basking turtle. It allows for about 6 feet of space around the creature. The people who are there to oversee and protect the turtles are volunteers. One woman I spoke to said she's been doing this for about 18 months and she loves it.

Well, after a while we were treated to the arrival of yet another turtle, Olivia. The turtles are numbered by an engraving on their shells. They're then given names and listed in the record book. So if there is no distinguishing mark to identify them, the overseers can find their names by looking up the number on the shell.

Olivia has a satillite antennea on her shell. It's put there by epoxy of some sort and usually left on for about a year. The researchers can track the travels of the turtles and gain info about their migrating and mating habits. The turtles are born about 500 miles away in the French Frigate Shoals (which appear to be northwest of Hawaii), and when they reach sexual maturity (about 20 years) they migrate back there to mate and lay eggs. These turtles are indigenous to Hawaii and Laniakea Beach on Oahu in particular.

So now that you have all this info on Hawaii's Green Turtles, you'll be ready the next time you play Trivial Pursuit.

Malama na honu=Care for the turtle