Living Wild: Sea Turtles

Today we will be featuring an elegant sea creature which can be seen in our Barbadian waters and is admired by many. We asked our local sea turtle enthusiast and expert Nikola Simpson to give us some insight and tips into these graceful animals and their environment.

There is something magical about seeing 150 sea turtle hatchlings sprint into the ocean under the full moon. With the turtle nesting season approaching in Barbados, you may be lucky enough to experience just this. There are 3 species of sea turtles that grace the beautiful waters of Barbados; the hawksbill, green and the leatherback. You will have the best chance of seeing a mature female hawksbill lay her eggs and if lucky, may also see a nest emerging and the cute critters rushing towards the light (hopefully the moonlight on the sea and not artificial light) if you visit the island between May and October. These are the months when adult females come to shore 3-5 times to lay their eggs. Female turtles nest on or near the same beach where they were born approximately 25 years earlier. They will lay roughly 150 eggs (that look like ping pong balls) which will take approximately 60 days to incubate and hatch.

The hawksbill sea turtles are critically endangered due to over harvesting for their shell, meat and eggs and thus it must be noted that it is illegal to catch any species of sea turtle or possess any turtles or their products in Barbados. However, there has been an increase in poaching of eggs and nesting females being killed in Barbados.

The Barbados Sea Turtle Project, located at the University of the West Indies, has a 24 hour hotline (230-0142) which you can call to report nesting females, hatching activity, injured sea turtles etc or you can take a look at their website to find out more information or their Facebook page.

What can you do to help protect the sea turtles of Barbados?

o   To minimize disturbance, keep your distance on land and in the water

o   Turn off lights that shine onto the beach at night if staying by the coast or consider installing alternative types of lights

o   Clean up any litter

o   Report sightings to the Hotline

So if you wish to see a turtle the next time you are here, green turtles can be seen any time of year from many cliff vantage points around the island e.g. Animal Flower Cave, Foul Bay, Crane or while snorkeling e.g. in Carlisle Bay; or sign up on the website to arrange the experience of a hawksbill hatchling release.

If taking part in one of the “Swim with the turtles” experiences, please respect them and ensure not to kick the turtles, touch, ride or feed them.

Whatever you do, make sure to safely interact with these species, and enjoy the experience!

Photography Credit: Nikola Simpson