Sea turtle mediterranean sea. About me and not only

Loggerhead or big-headed turtle (lat. caretta caretta) is another representative of the sea turtle family, which has been greatly affected by human activities. You can meet him in the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In addition, loggerheads are frequent guests in the Mediterranean Sea and even looked into Russia a couple of times - they were seen in the Barents Sea, in Peter the Great Bay and in the Kerch Strait.

Like hawksbill, this turtle has a heart-shaped shell, only its dimensions are slightly larger - on average from 90 to 110 cm, and the largest loggerhead had a carapace 122 cm long. Its color can be olive, red-brown or brown. The lower part - the plastron - is a lighter shade.

The head of the loggerhead is quite large (they call it a big-headed turtle for a reason!). It is round and short, with a massive jaw, with which the turtle crushes strong shells and shells of the inhabitants of the deep sea. The upper part of the head is covered with large scutes; near the eyes there are two pairs of prefrontal scutes. There are also 5 pairs of costal shields on the turtle's back. It has blunt claws on its front paws. Interestingly, the male is quite easy to distinguish from the female by the presence of a long tail.

Loggerheads live at sea most of the time. They even sleep on the surface of the water, slowly drifting along with the current. Mating takes place right there - sometimes with one, and sometimes with several partners. Pregnant females swim to the shore, wait for darkness, and only then come to the surface to lay their eggs.

Most nesting loggerhead turtles can be seen on the island of Masirah in Oman - according to rough estimates, there are at least 30 thousand of them. In addition, loggerheads also liked the coast of Florida - 6-15 thousand females nest here. Many turtles get ashore in Australia.

flickr/paulmichaels79uf

In one clutch there are usually no less than a hundred eggs. The incubation period lasts from 47 to 61 days. Little turtles do not immediately get out of the hole - for some time they sit in the sand and gain strength. And they will need strength, because they need to have time to get to the ocean, avoiding meeting with seagulls, crabs and other predators who have gathered for lunch.

However, this danger is not so terrible for the species as a whole - nature has provided for everything, which is why one adult turtle makes at least 4-5 clutches per season. But she could not take into account the taste preferences of a person. And although loggerhead meat is tasteless, and its shell is not suitable for making souvenirs, the big-headed turtle still found something that can please people - these are its eggs.

What only of them was not prepared! And they added it to confectionery products, and made delicious desserts. And in Cuba, they generally preferred not to wait until the turtle laid eggs, and they caught pregnant females in order to smoke their eggs right in the oviducts, and then sell them as a kind of sausages.

Unfortunately, the result of such activities is quite predictable - loggerheads are included in the Red Book, where the status of their species is assessed as vulnerable. The national laws of Greece, Cyprus, the United States and Italy protect loggerhead turtles, and the collection of their eggs is prohibited almost everywhere in the world.

And if you want to compare the Nile turtles that live in the Dalyan Delta with Caretta Caretta, then you)

One of the attractions of Dalyan is the Caretta-Caretta sea turtles, who have chosen Iztuzu Beach for laying eggs.

Some information about Caretta-Caretta, gleaned from the posters of the Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center:
Caretta Caretta is a sea turtle that lives in the Mediterranean Sea. The turtle lives in the sea and comes out on land only to lay eggs. Under water can swim at a depth of up to 200 meters. It can continuously remain under water for 15-25 minutes.
Turtles are carnivores. They have no teeth, but the jaw is powerful and the palate is very sharp. They feed on fish, crabs, crayfish and any other small fry.
At 25-30 years old they reach sexual maturity. Out of 100 turtles, only 3-5 lucky ones survive to puberty. They have too many enemies, one of which is a man. Turtles die entangled in fishing nets or plastic bags thrown into the sea...
The female lays eggs every 2-3 years from May to July. Lays eggs in pits/nests dug in the sand at a depth of 50-60 cm. As a rule, there is more than one nest, the female makes from 3 to 5 nests. Laying in different nests takes place at intervals of about 15 days. One nest has an average of 70 eggs. After 45-65 days, the cubs begin to hatch. At a high temperature (+32) females hatch, at a low temperature (+26) - males. At the time set by nature, the cubs, having hatched, climb out of the nest and, obeying intuition, head to the sea.
In Turkey, one of the main places for laying Caretta-Caretta eggs are the beaches of Iztuzu, Patara, Belek. These places have the status of protected areas. Interestingly, sea turtles, wherever they are, always return to the beach where they hatched. And it is on this beach that they lay their eggs. To continue their offspring, they, obeying instinct, travel thousands of kilometers to return to the beach, where they themselves were once born...

On Iztuzu Beach, posters are placed at almost every step, showing the places of clutches and urging tourists not to harm the turtles, which are on the list of endangered animals.

The sign indicates that under it there is a place for laying eggs. On the territory from sun loungers to the white line (on the right in the photo), tourists are asked not to arrange sunbeds, not to put umbrellas and not to dig holes. This area belongs to turtles...

As far as I understand, it’s almost impossible to see Caretta-Caretta outside the tour (Those who want to see the turtles will have to go on a special tour. We didn’t go, but as part of another tour we got a very responsive captain who, to our complaints about the fact that we come to Dalyan, but never managed to see Caretta-Caretta, changed the route and brought us to the place of "hunting" for turtles.
Local residents, feeding the turtles, have developed conditioned reflexes in them and now they successfully use this to entertain tourists. Turtles are lured with blue crabs tied to a rope and thus shown to tourists. Crabs are caught here, in the delta.
Here it is, the blue crab

This is for us) Crab baked in foil. Not bad. But it's far from king crabs...

And here came the lover of crabs (she is in the first photo)

The turtle moved quite briskly, apparently young and full of energy. Capturing it proved to be quite problematic.

And here it turned out so terrible. Causes association with a bird of prey. The turtle has a large head, hence one of its other names - loggerherd, big-headed sea turtle.

We also met Caretta-Caretta at the Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre. But that is another story...

Title (rus): Loggerhead, Big-headed Marine, False Carriage
Name (lat): caretta caretta
Title (eng): Loggerhead Sea Turtle

Suborder: (Cryptodira) Secret-necked turtles
Superfamily: (Chelonioidea)
Family: (Cheloniidae) Sea turtles
Subfamily: (Carettinae)
Genus: (Caretta) Loggerhead / Big-headed Marines
Subspecies:
caretta caretta caretta
Caretta caretta gigas

Description: The length of the carapace is up to 213 cm. The forelimbs are long, flipper-like. The carapace is covered with horny scutes. Weight - 159 kg. Unlike both previous species, it has 5 pairs of costal scutes on its back. Turtles have a pair of blunt claws on their front flippers. The head is very massive, covered with large shields. The upper part protrudes slightly in front of the lower, but does not have such a pronounced beak at the end as the hawksbill. The carapace is colored from above in a characteristic reddish-brown color, the plastron is yellowish-brown. The front paws have two claws. The young of the carapace are dark brown and have pale brown fins.
In males with a lot of testosterone, the central part of the plastron is wrinkled and spongy - this helps it better hold on to the female.

Habitat: Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans from Washington state to Japan, India, the coasts of Kenya and West Africa, from Newfoundland and the British Isles in the north to Chile, Argentina, Australia and South Africa in the south. Also found in the Caribbean and Mediterranean seas. Inhabits mainly lagoons and bays, as well as marshes with brackish water and estuaries of large rivers.

Food: Its food consists primarily of animals - crabs and shellfish, as well as fish, jellyfish, sponges. Occasionally, the loggerhead also eats aquatic plants.

Reproduction: Loggerhead nesting sites are scattered along many coasts of islands and mainlands in the tropics and even beyond. So, on the Atlantic coast of America, loggerheads nest up to Virginia. The timing of oviposition varies in different areas; in the Gulf of Mexico it falls in May-July. Having got out on the beach beyond the tide line, the female digs a nest with her hind legs and fills it with rounded eggs (up to 100-126 in number) with a leathery shell, a little more than 4 cm in size each. After 60 days, the turtles hatch from the eggs almost simultaneously, spend several hours in the nest, and then crawl out of the sand in a dense column and run to the sea. Turtles lay eggs every 2-3 or more years. During the season they arrange 4-7 nests with a difference of 12-14 days.

Additionally: View discovered by LINNAEUS, 1758.
Bissa is called a carriage for the fact that it is she who gives "karey" - horn plates, and in loggerhead shell shields are unsuitable for crafts. But the name comes from a large head - large head.
The meat of loggerheads is considered not very tasty, and therefore the turtles themselves are eaten only by some local tribes. But their eggs find admirers everywhere, so the laying of loggerheads is rarely preserved and the number of these turtles has declined sharply, especially in the last 50-100 years, when many hitherto untouched corners of the coasts began to be intensively populated. They are eaten everywhere in various preparations. In Cuba, for example, loggerhead eggs taken from a pregnant female are smoked directly in the oviducts and then sold as sausages. And in Colombia, they prepare a sweet dish, a kind of "candy".

Caretta caretta is a large sea turtle, one of the few species. Their numbers are difficult to estimate, but it is clear that sea turtles are getting smaller.

Caretta caretta, also called loggerhead, big-headed turtle is an extremely independent, free creature. Loggerheads live everywhere in the oceans, they swim freely in currents, rest on the surface of the ocean, feel great underwater. This sea miracle does not belong to any country and any state. It is therefore difficult to say in which country loggerheads are found. They don't even need dry land. Majestic carriages come ashore only to lay their eggs. To do this, they are suitable for any tropical and subtropical coasts, Caretta choose Australia, the south of the USA, Cuba. It so happens that people most often meet with turtles in Turkey - nesting sites and tourist beaches coincide there - both people and turtles equally appreciate the clean thin sand of the coast.

The Greek island of Zakynthos is also proud of its sands - the only place in the Mediterranean where carriage eggs are laid. There, turtles are considered relics, they are protected.

The carriage is, indeed, both very ancient and very vulnerable. It is surprising that for thousands of years they have chosen the same coasts for nesting. Babies, hatched from eggs, can swim through the oceans, but they will return to the same shore to breed. And there is the beach. At night, the female must go ashore, dig a hole with her hind legs, lay eggs there - about a hundred. If frightened or disturbed, the turtle will return to the sea without finishing its business. Therefore, all city authorities close the beaches at night for the nesting period - nothing should interfere with relic turtles.

After about 70 days, the eggs hatch into babies. Previously, turtle eggs were considered a delicacy - and dug up and consumed on a large scale. Only when the number of turtles was noticeably reduced because of this was a ban on turtle eggs universally introduced.

Having hatched, the babies lie motionless in the sand for about 26 days, then they dig out and immediately go to the sea. Predators are ready for this - many turtle children never reach the water. There is another problem. At night, the turtles go to the sea, focusing on the horizon - the faint light that it emits. If they are disoriented at this moment, they will confuse the direction and die.

Having reached the sea, they can already feel safe as little carriages - they have few enemies in the water. It is hoped that the population of this ancient species, if not increased, then at least will not decrease in the future. In the meantime, they are listed as a vulnerable species in the Red Book.

The huge sea turtles Caretta-Caretta are already a legend in the Turkish Mediterranean. Sculptures of giant turtles, standing in an embrace, greet guests at the entrance to Belek. During boat trips, guides will certainly promise tourists that they will see turtles alive, and some beaches close after seven in the evening because of these legendary reptiles. But the most important period is autumn, when the tiny Carettas have to overcome the most dangerous path in their lives.

Half past six in the morning, but very warm. The sea is gentle, the air is warm, although it is already autumn. We came to Cirali knowing that the Caretta Caretta turtles are hatching here, and now is the season. You just need to run to the beach in the morning and carefully look at the people walking by. But the sea quickly distracted us. And here, literally 25 meters from us, there is a clear “it”, and we are in chest-deep water. In general, they took us by surprise, but we are behind the cameras - and run. And there already some guys write in a special notebook how many pieces from which hole and at what time they got out.

The people of various colors lined up in two lines and cheered up with the welcoming cries of the kids, of which there were four. Uncles shout at onlookers so that they don’t inadvertently interfere. They drove me away when I was standing half a meter to the side of the turtle track - you never know, maybe the kid wants to turn?

There were four supervisors. And what? Responsible work! One makes notes, the other - with an important blamba on his chest, like the main one. He controls all the movements of the supervisors in relation to the turtles. Another one raises and lowers, and, if necessary, takes away the wire frames that are no longer needed, which are installed above the masonry, while the baby is still in the sand, into a common pile. And he also carries a bucket in which they put completely hopeless, weak turtles. And the fourth, apparently, so for the company.

The cubs hatched on the set day must sit in the sand for another 26 hours, which is probably why supervisors so carefully feel the place of laying. The palm goes vertically into the sand in several places in turn. If “something suspicious”, they use their palms, horizontal movements, layers, to rake the sand to the sides. Probably, being afraid to injure the kids, who have already decided to get out on their own. If they don’t find anything, they all bury it again, make appropriate notes in their notebook and put a wire frame over the masonry - until the next time.

While the turtles are crawling towards the water (and it's funny, the closer to the water, the faster they run, they even jump, as if they feel), the supervisors are busy with a very important task. They carefully dig out the masonry - their former home - they all check if there is anything else left there, count the peel, put it back and bury the masonry. And they don't go anywhere until the turtles swim away.

And even if the turtle, which itself is still the size of 3/4 cigarette packs, rolls over, falling off a pebble on the beach, it does not need help. A specially trained uncle helps her in some strange but more effective way. He does not turn her over, but puts a finger on his hand, helping to strain his weak muscles and turn over herself.

As soon as the baby finally and confidently swims away, the supervisors collect their little things and go to the next clutch. The whole crowd is behind them.

Irina IVANOVA

On a note:

Three of the seven species of sea turtles living today are regularly observed in the Mediterranean Sea: Caretta-Caretta (Caretta-Caretta), green (Chelonia Mydas) and leatherback (Dermochelys Coriacea). The most common species is Caretta Caretta, but green turtles are found only in the Eastern Mediterranean, where the water temperature is higher. Their main breeding grounds are on the beaches of the South-East coast of Turkey - Kazanli (Kazanlı), Akyatan (Akyatan) and Samandag (Samandağ).

Turtles Caretta-Caretta are included in the list of endangered species of our planet of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The fact is that for a long time they were considered a delicacy not only in the Far East, but also in some European countries (for example, France and Italy). These marine reptiles feed mainly on plant foods. They live in colonies.

Caretta-Caretta lays eggs only once every two to three years. Turtles go to the sandy shore and, using their hind legs, dig several holes. Then, having chosen, in their opinion, the most suitable one, they lay eggs there. One turtle can dig up to 80-100 holes, but for the entire masonry it will choose only one.

This exhausting procedure for turtles lasts about 60 days (from May to July). From July to September, small turtles begin to appear. They say that males are hatched at a temperature of 28.5 ° C, but for females, heat is required more - 32 ° C.

The cubs, hatched on the appointed day, get out of the hole and, guided by the moon, head towards the sea, carried away by instinct. During the period when the little turtles hatch from eggs, it is forbidden to kindle a fire or light a light, because it can deceive the cubs and they will go astray. You need to get to the water before dawn. Latecomers die from the hot sun or become food for birds. Instinct again leads adults to the place where they were born. Having hatched in one place, they return there already in order to give life to a new generation.

In Turkey, there are 17 beaches where sea turtles lay their eggs, among them the most important are Patara, the Göksu River Delta (Göksu), Belek - all of them have the status of protected areas.

Interesting Facts:

Turtles Caretta-Caretta live on Earth already 95 million years

Adult turtles reach the size 115-150 cm

Weight - approx. 70-90 kg

Average life span - no more 70 years old

One turtle can dig up to 80-100 holes for laying eggs

Betyuyab on the protection of turtles

Due to the rapid development of tourism in the region, the protection of the endangered Caretta-Caretta tortoise species is now one of the priority activities of the Belek Investors Union (Betuyab), according to Bulent Buyukiit, Betuyab's general manager. Every year, from May to August, vigorous work is carried out on the coasts of the region: the installation of barriers, the observation of turtles. For this, the Union invites specialists from all over the world, as well as volunteers - students from Turkey.

The protection of the Caretta-Caretta turtles in Belek is complicated by the fact that all 55 hotels are located on the coast. It's the extra light and sound that scares away the turtles and they just don't go to the beach. However, about 70 baby turtles hatch on the coasts of Belek every year. To continue their kind, turtles choose such hotels in Belek as: Paloma Grida Village, MegaSaray, Xanadu, Kaya, Maritim Pine beach, Rixos, Club Voyage Belek Select, Spice, Arcadia, Magic World, Sun Zeynep, Attalia Village.