Turkey, Dalyan - “Caretta Caretta Turtles! You may or may not see a sea tadpole! Oh little Turkish Venice! The road of life. The birth of sea turtles. Caretta caretta When Caretta Turtles Lay their Eggs

Who is Caretta Caretta?

Caretta caretta (Latin name Caretta caretta), she is Loggerhead, she is also a big-headed sea turtle. Adults can reach 1 m in length and weigh up to 200 kg. The massive head of Caretta Caretta is covered with large shields. The color of the shell is brownish-red. These turtles feed mainly on mollusks, sponges, small fish, crabs, jellyfish and sometimes aquatic plants. Loggerhead habitats are almost all tropical seas. But despite the fact that these turtles live in the sea, they breed on land. The female crawls out of the sea onto the sandy shore, chooses a place with a slight slope behind the tide line and digs a nest with her hind legs, where she lays her eggs. In one laying of a sea turtle there can be up to 120 eggs. The shell of the eggs is soft, leathery, the size of the eggs is 3 - 4 cm. Then she buries the eggs with sand and goes into the sea. After about 2 months, cubs are born. Most often, small turtles hatch from eggs at the same time and, after staying in the nest for several hours, crawl out and rush to the sea. They never return to their nest again. Only the females, when they grow up, will return here to build their nest and lay eggs to continue their race.

How we first met a sea turtle

The first time we had a chance to see a big-headed sea turtle, when we went on a sea excursion to Gramvousa Fortress and Balos Lagoon. Then our ship just left the port of Kissamos and walked along the Korikos peninsula towards the island of Gramvousa, as we saw in the sea ... a head! Taking a closer look, we realized that this is a huge sea turtle swimming at a good speed towards the shore. Our ship was going quite fast, and the turtle also did not lag behind (only in the opposite direction from us), in general, while we took out and turned on the camera, the turtles and the trace caught a cold. But we remembered this incident and began to wonder where else in Crete you can find a large sea turtle.

Where can you see the Caretta Caretta turtle in Crete?

On the island of Crete, you can also see adult Caretta caretta turtles and their newborn cubs. These are the places:

1. AT reptile rescue center in Hersonissos.

Rescued reptiles and marine life live in this center, which for some reason will no longer be able to survive in the natural environment. There we saw a loggerhead turtle named Stefania. She is almost completely blind, so she could not survive in the wild.

Turtle Stephanie

2. AT Cretan Aquarium in Gournes. More than 2,500 marine organisms are represented here, among which there are Caretta caretta turtles.

3. On sea excursions in the open sea near the island.
As mentioned above, we saw Caretta Caretta on the high seas during a sea excursion on Balos. And also, we saw a big sea turtle on sea ​​excursions in Agios Nikolaos. In Agios Nikolaos there is such a half-ship-semi-submarine, through the large windows of which you can see many underwater inhabitants of the Mirabello Bay, including Loggerhead turtles.

4. Often, sea turtles swim in the ports of the major cities of the island. They are periodically seen in the Old Port of Chania, and Rethymno, and in Agios Nikolaos. Moreover, loggerheads are so frequent visitors here that the locals even give these turtles nicknames.

5. And, of course, in Crete you can also see very small cubs of big-headed turtles. From about mid-July to the end of October, very early at dawn, the babies crawl out of the nest and, quickly working with tiny flippers, move to the sea. Or, small turtles can be seen when volunteers from the Archelon sea turtle rescue organization dig up the nests of these reptiles. What is Archelon and why do volunteers dig up turtle nests? Not so long ago we learned about it.

What organization is Archelon?

Sea turtles have been endangered for many years. This is due to many factors: environmental pollution, fishing nets, building hotels in coastal areas and the improvement of beaches. And since about 60% of the Caretta Caretta sea turtle nests are located in Greece, the Archelon Association is doing everything possible to save these reptiles, which are rapidly disappearing from our planet.

Archelon (ΑΡΧΕΛΩΝ) is the Greek Society for the Protection of Sea Turtles, which was established in 1983. The Society works in the main nesting areas of Caretta caretta turtles in Greece: the island of Crete, the Peloponnese peninsula and the island of Zakynthos. Volunteers from Archelon rescue sick and injured turtles and educate people about rare reptiles by conducting public nest excavations.

Why are Caretta Caretta turtle nests excavated?

First of all, when volunteers from Archelon spot a sea turtle laying on the beach, they set up a special sign at this place indicating that there is a nest here, and also record the date of laying.

Caretta caretta turtle nest

It is worth noting that the main reference point for newborn turtles in the dark is the moonlight reflected in the sea. But due to the fact that on the equipped beaches, as a rule, artificial lighting is installed: lanterns, spotlights, light from restaurants and cafes, the turtles go astray and go in the opposite direction from the sea. This eventually leads to their death. Therefore, volunteers often install a small fence from masonry, so that when the turtles get out of the nest, they do not go astray, but go towards the sea.

Once, being in Crete in August, we accidentally found out that the Archelon Society will soon be excavating nests of sea turtles near the place where we rested. We decided to attend this event for two reasons:

1. It was interesting to see what a sea turtle's nest looks like.
2. I wanted to know why they dig up the nests of sea turtles?

So, we learned about the place where public excavations of the nest of the turtle Caretta caretta will be carried out on the social network page of the Archelon association

The road of life. The birth of sea turtles. Caretta caretta.

The other day I watched how sea turtles were born - caretta and fled into the sea together.

But it turns out that life is not so smooth for turtles. Some data: An adult turtle reaches a length of 70-95 cm and a mass of 80 to 200 kg. Females lay eggs at night, 4-5 times per season, in summer and autumn. The clutch contains from 100 to 126 eggs with a leathery shell about 4 cm in diameter. Turtles hatch after 1-2 months, spend several hours in the nest, and then crawl out of the sand together and run to the sea. The average life span does not exceed 70 years.

Yesterday I learned that turtles began to climb out of one of the clutches in the Rethymno region and went to look. It was about 7 pm, I quickly found a place on the shore due to the crowd of people. Volunteers worked around the masonry. I was struck by a large number of clutches - about 15, within a radius of only 10-15 meters and where there is a very narrow sandy coastline.

Volunteers before me have already checked one of the clutches, which was suitable for hatching dates. It contained 112 eggs, but only 38 turtles hatched and left the nest. As the guys said, on average, 70% die during births, and another part of the turtles die in the sea. Opening the masonry, scientists keep statistics: many do not ripen, infections.

With me, they tried to resuscitate three turtles, poured water over them. The turtles, although they were of normal size, were very lethargic and could not crawl. They definitely need to get to the water themselves, stretch their muscles. The girls carefully sprinkled the turtles with sand, perhaps they will still gain strength.

When the volunteers left, I got into a conversation with two girls from a nearby hotel, who had been watching and helping the turtles for several days.

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. Pretty good. 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...

A species of sea turtle is regularly observed: Caretta-Caretta (Caretta-Caretta), Caretta-Caretta turtles are on the list of endangered animals. 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 have been living on Earth for 95 million years. Adult turtles reach a size of 115-150 cm, while their weight is about 70-90 kg.....
Caretta-Caretta lays eggs only once every two to three years. Turtles go out onto the sand and, using their hind legs, dig several holes, then, choosing, in their opinion, the most suitable one, they lay eggs there. One turtle can dig up to 80-100 holes, but it will lay all its eggs in only one of them. The process of laying eggs lasts for hours and experts say that the female turtle does not experience positive emotions at all at this moment.
This exhausting procedure for turtles lasts about 60 days (from May to July). And 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.
Cubs hatched on the appointed day,
moreover, they say, they still need to sit in the sand for 26 hours, which is probably why the supervisors feel the place of laying so carefully - the palm goes vertically into the sand in several places in turn.

If "something suspicious", they rake horizontally to the sides with their palms - in layers.

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.

Yes, so the kids get out of the hole and, guided by the moon, head to 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. They should have time to get to the water before dawn and the heat came. Latecomers are destroyed by the hot rays of the sun or become food for birds. One of the most dangerous enemies on earth they have is a fox. Of course, even once at sea, the cubs cannot be considered completely safe. Not reaching a certain size, they serve as tasty food for fish.
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, for example, Iztuzu, Patara, the Gösu River Delta (Gösu), Belek - all of them have the status of protected areas.

I, in general, disagree about Belek, but it’s not for me to judge.
Well, we came here knowing that Caretta breeds here and that we need to run in the morning (we read w, but what about w!) To the beach and peer at the people walking by.

Oh. Only, having gone to the beach, well, we completely forgot about it - after all, the sea is the same! Half past six in the morning and very warm. And the sea is gentle and the air is warm and my temperature has been 38.2 since yesterday.

And then literally 25 meters from us - it is obvious. And we are in chest-deep water.
In general, they caught us by surprise, but we are for the cameras and run :)
And there already special uncles enter in a special notebook how many pieces from which number of the hole when they got out.

The people of various colors lined up in two lines and with very welcoming cries of the kids, of whom there were four, encourages.

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 highway - you never know, maybe the kid wants to turn?

In general, there were four supervisors. And figli? Responsible work!
One records does.

One - with an important plaque on his chest, like, the main one.

He makes all decisions about all the movements of the supervisors in the case of turtles.
One - raises and lowers, and, in case of need, takes away into the common pile the wire frames that are no longer needed, which are installed above the masonry, while the baby is still in the sand.

And he carries a bucket.
One - I don't know why, probably - for the company.
With a bucket is a separate issue: we watched four kids move towards the water. One of them was very weak. At all:(
It was put into this same bucket. Probably carried to the turtle cemetery :(

While the turtles are crawling towards the water (and it's funny, the closer they are to the water, the faster they run, even jump :) it seems that they feel it, even though they were born just a few minutes ago :)), the supervisors are busy with a very important thing: they carefully they dig up the masonry - their former home, everyone checks if there is anything else left there, counts 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 to be helped by a specially trained uncle helps her in some strange, but probably more effective way: he does not turn over, he puts his finger to her, helping her to strain her little snares and roll over herself :)

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

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 into the common pile the wire frames that are no longer needed, which are installed above the masonry, while the baby is still in the sand. 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, 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 priorities 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. This is extra light and sound that scares away the turtles, and they simply do not 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.

Photos for the article