The Ningalu region has been identified as having significant beaches for the life cycle of nesting sea turtles. Three main species of sea turtles nest on the coast of Ningalu:
Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas)
o Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta)
o Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmoclys imbricata)
Young sea turtles drift and feed in the open ocean. When it comes to plate sizes, turtles settle near nesting feeding grounds.
Sea turtles grow slowly and take from 30 to 50 years to reach puberty. They live for years in one place before they are ready to make a long breeding migration of up to 3,000 kilometers from feeding grounds to nesting beaches.
During the breeding season, from November to February, you can book an excursion to see the Green, Loggerhead and Hawksbill turtles (three of the seven sea turtles of the world) that go ashore to lay eggs or see how the chicks hatch back to sea.
After reaching puberty, the life cycle of sea turtles reproduces over several decades, although there may be intervals between reproduction of several years.
When breeding, breeding females return to the same area, which is believed to be in the area where they were born.
Grooming and mating take place in shallow water near a nesting beach. Females often mate with more than one male and after mating, males return to feeding.
When ready to lay eggs, the female tortoise crawls out of the sea above the high water level, usually about an hour ago, about two hours after the nighttime tide.
In preparation for nesting, the female turtle drops free sand with all four flippers to form a hole for the body. She then digs a vertical pear-shaped egg chamber with hind flippers. Often sand is not suitable for nesting, especially if it is too dry, and the turtle moves to another area. For most species of turtles, digging a nest takes about 45 minutes. Then it takes another 10-20 minutes to lay a bunch of leathery eggs. Each clutch contains about 100 white, spherical, ping-pong balls.
After laying, the turtle fills the chamber of the egg with sand using the rear flippers, and then fills the hole for the body using all four flippers. Nests can be covered to a depth of more than metric size with sand blown over it during the incubation of eggs. The turtle finally returns to the sea, entering the water about one to two hours after its departure. Green turtles may need more time for nesting.
While on the beach, liquid hangs from the eyes of the turtle. It is a concentrated salt solution that helps remove excess salt that gets into the turtle from drinking sea water. This solution also washed away the eyes without sand.
The female green turtle usually lays six clutches of eggs at two week intervals. Between nesting attempts, female turtles congregate near the nesting beaches. They return to the same beach to lay consecutive clutches as part of the life cycle of sea turtles.
The incubation time and sex of the chicks depend on the temperature of the sand. Warm, dark sand produces mostly females, and eggs hatch in seven to eight weeks. Eggs that lie in the cool white sand, mostly lead to males, and eggs take longer to hatch.
After hatching, babies spend several days to make their way through the sand to the surface.
Coming out of the nest, as a rule, at night chicks hatch for the ocean. Chicks can be easily disorientated and attractive to bright lights, such as street and home lights - this is a contribution to many childhood deaths.
Most chicks reach the sea, despite the fact that crabs and seabirds attack them on the beach. In the first few hours in the water, these young turtles face heavy predation in sharks and other fish.
In February and early March, turtles hatch and go to sea.
Then the life cycle of sea turtles continues with the next generation.
On this page there is not only a lot of information about sea turtles, but also look at my other related topics, including:
o Sea turtles in Coral Bay, Ningalu Reef
o Green turtles
o Loggerhead Turtles
o Hawksbill Turtles
