12

TURTLES, THE GREAT EIGHT

Great Barrier Reef

12

TURTLES, THE GREAT EIGHT

Great Barrier Reef

Turtles, The Great 8, Southern Great Barrier Reef

Marine turtles and their ancestors have been around since before the dinosaurs (almost 100 million years)! We have 6 of the 7 species of marine turtles found worldwide right here on the GBR. They are the Green, Hawksbill, Loggerhead, Flatback, Leatherback, and Olive Ridley. The Great Barrier Reef and Lady Musgrave Island and Reef are important feeding, resting and nesting sites for Green, Hawksbill & Loggerhead turtles. Marine turtles have survived asteroids that wiped out the dinosaurs, the evolution of mammals (including us, so far!) and the ice ages.

Lady Musgrave Island is isolated, meaning there are no mammals or reptiles on the island. Fewer predators (eg. Goannas, foxes, etc), increases comfort for turtles and their chances of survival.

Lady Musgrave is one of the best places on the Great Barrier Reef to see and swim with turtles. Come visit, fall in love, and do your part to ensure the protection of the 7 remaining endangered species.

On the mainland, Mon Repos is the largest loggerhead rookery in the Western Pacific. Loggerheads prefer mainland sands because they are darker (and therefore warmer) than white island sands (cooler). Ideal temperatures for Green Turtle hatchlings are cooler.

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Lady Musgrave Experience Crew - Swimming With Sea Turtles, Great Barrier Reef

Learn More About Turtles and The Great Eight

  • Sea Turtles have a characteristic large shell called a carapace, four strong flippers and lungs for breathing air. They also have a pointed sharp beak-like mouth used for crushing their food.
  • Sea turtles are known for their ability to travel thousands of kilometres between their nesting locations and feeding sites.
  • Six of the world’s seven sea turtles can be found cruising the waters of the Great Barrier Reef. The most commonly sighted sea turtles of the Great Barrier Reef are green, hawksbill and loggerhead turtles.
  • Female turtles take between 30 and 50 years before they commence breeding. Then they breed every 2 – 8 years.
  • Female sea turtles always return to the same area to nest. Some females found on the Great Barrier Reef are thought to have travelled from places such as Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and New Caledonia.
  • Depending on the species, sea turtles lay between 50 – 100 eggs at a time and during nesting season females may lay multiple clutches.
  • Between January and April, thousands of tiny “hatchlings” can be seen along the shores of Islands and the coastline scurrying from nests in the dunes down into the water where they commence their lives.
  • Survival rate of a hatchling that makes it to sexual maturity (around 30 years old) is 1/1000.
  • ANYTHING will eat them. Apart from natural predators, they have to survive many man-made challenges/threats:
  • Green Turtles lay up to approx. 150 eggs, incubate for 6-8 weeks
  • Sex of hatchlings depends on the temperature of the sand (cooler <26 = males, warmer >29 = females, 26-29 = mix).
  • commercial fishing and by-catch (long lines, trawlers, nets)
  • boat strikes
  • PLASTIC POLLUTION