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 ABOUTfeatured: 30 Best Snorkeling Blogs Fun Ways to enjoy the caribbeanJun 3, 10 Comments Off
Good morning readers. Last night when I got home from work I took off on a fast mountain bike ride and then Aimee and I went out to dinner at the Avila Hotel to celebrate our 10 year Anniversary. Actually it’s today but we thought doing dinner last night and a movie or something else tonight would work better.
Well yesterday afternoon I had one of the best dives ever. I searched and searched for a dive buddy but no one wanted to go as usual so I again suited up and took off by myself which I do often just staying in shallow water. I immediately ran into another juvenile Hawksbill Turtle (different that the one from a few days ago) who was in 25 feet of water searching for food. I quietly swam up and took a few photos and to my surprise he could have cared less and never even acknowledged my existence, that’s my kind of marine reptile. I ended up staying along side him for the next hour and just watched as he hunted for food. I have no idea what he was looking for but I did photograph him with little chunks of dead coral in his mouth. He was digging in the coral rubble looking for something but in the hour I was with him I only saw him eat something small and felt bad that he wasn’t finding more. Normally their diet consists mainly of sponges but they are known to feed on small prey that they find in reef crevices, that sharp, narrow beak can be very useful! Yesterday as he fed he swam under this bush of hanging fire coral and got his shell caught in it and was struggling to get out. I was almost going to help when he backed up and got himself out, it was pretty scary to watch because as you know or don’t know turtles need to surface to breath. Most turtles can hold their breath for several hours but tend to surface during the day every 15-30 minutes and at night can hold their breath for 4-7 hours. These beautiful Hawksbill Turtles are listed as Critically Endangered (facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate future) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. The greatest threat to hawksbill sea turtle is the harvesting for their prized shell, often referred to as “tortoise shell.” In some countries the shell is still used to make hair ornaments, jewelry, and other decorative items.
There are approximately 22,900 nesting females, that’s why when I get to spend time with a youngster like this it’s very special. We need to help do whatever it takes to help protect them by donating to worthwhile causes like Caribbean Conservation Corporation www.cccturtle.org or the Sea Turtle Network at www.seaturtle.org
Talk to you more tonight, I have two waiting dogs ready to go! Have a great day, Barry
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