Jem's Birding & Ringing Exploits in the Eastern Province and elsewhere in Saudi Arabia
16 October 2013
Hawksbill Turtle – Farasan Kabir Island
One the first morning of the Farasan Islands
after we had got to the Farasan Coral Resort hotel we went swimming in the sea
directly in front of the hotel with the children. Whilst swimming I saw what
looked like a large fish caught in a fish net so I went to investigate to see
if it was alive and I could release it. When I got there it was not a fish but
a Hawksbill Turtle Eretmochelys imbricata. After some time I managed to free to Turtle
and brought it back to land to check that its neck and flippers, that had been
badly entangled, were not damaged. After ensuring all was fine I took a few
photographs and then took it back out to deep water and released it. It swam
off very strongly and fast, which was good to see and will hopefully live a
long a happy life. This was a great start to our holiday on the Farasan Islands
and a great experience for the children to see such a beautiful and rare animal
up close. This was the first time I have ever seen Hawksbill Turtle, which are
critically endangered, so I was also very pleased.
The Hawksbill Turtle
gets its name from its distinct beak like mouth. A hawksbill Turtles head
tapers to a point and their lower jaw is V-shaped, adding to the hawk-like resemblance.
They are beautiful, medium sized turtles with adults usually about 0.5 – 1
metre long and weigh 45 – 90 kilogrammes. Their carapace is covered in thick
overlapping scales that are called scutes which are usually amber colored and
richly patterned, with radiating streaks of lighter brown and black. Their diet
consists mainly of sponges that live on coral reefs and their sharp, narrow beaks
are used to feed on prey found in reef crevices. Hawksbill Turtles are
critically endangered because of their beautiful shell. They have been hunted
for hundreds of years in huge numbers for the “tortoise shell” that is used in many
types of jewelry and trinkets. They are found throughout tropical waters
worldwide, and are known to nest on beaches in at least 60 countries including
Saudi Arabia. It takes part in long distance migrations, with breeding and
feeding grounds in very distant locations. Hawksbill Turtles are mainly
associated with the clear, relatively shallow water of coastal reefs, bays,
estuaries and lagoons, with nesting generally occurring on remote, isolated
sandy beaches. They take decades to mature, first breeding at 20 to 40 years of
age when the female will typically lay up to five clutches of around 100 to 140
eggs in a single breeding season. Nesting is much more dispersed than in other
marine turtles, but individuals do tend to return to a particular beach season
after season. Probably less than one out of 1,000 eggs will survive and reach
adulthood.