Hawksbill turtle

How do you identify a hawksbill turtle?

The hawksbill turtle, named for its hawk-like beak, measures 60 to 100 centimeters of shell and weighs 43 to 75 kg; the largest known specimen reached 127 centimeters. It looks much like the other sea turtles, but three details set it apart: the thick scutes of its carapace, laid like the tiles of a roof, a long, narrow, hooked beak, and two claws on each flipper. The shell, flattened and without a continuous keel, is very colorful, and four prefrontal scales draw a pale line between the eyes.

How does the hawksbill turtle live?

It lives close to shore in all tropical seas, and it is the turtle of coral reefs: it uses its hooked beak to reach the sponges in crevices that make up most of its diet, along with anemones, jellyfish and invertebrates. Females come ashore to nest on beaches, in a nest dug up to 90 centimeters deep. Prized for the quality of its shell, long worked into combs, eyeglass frames and jewelry, it has been hunted everywhere: the species is Critically Endangered and its trade is banned under Appendix I of CITES.

Where and when can you see hawksbill turtles?

In the Red Sea, it is the turtle you will meet most often on the walls, all year round. At Elphinstone, it feeds among the soft corals of the walls, a few meters from divers. You will also see it around the Giftun Islands, at St. John's and Fury Shoals, and passing over the wrecks. The green turtle prefers the seagrass beds of sandy bays, such as Abu Dabbab. The hawksbill stays on the coral.

In the Philippines, you will find it under the overhangs of Cogon Point, at Apo Island, and of Diver's Heaven, at Balicasag. In Indonesia, at Cape Kri in Raja Ampat, you will often see several per dive. In the Caribbean, in Cozumel, it shows up on almost every dive on the sponges of the Palancar canyons.

In the Indian Ocean, on Mafia Island in Tanzania, it is the most common turtle in Chole Bay. It stays on the wall at Kinasi Pass. In the Maldives, you can meet it all year round, on the plateaus and reef tops. In the Pacific, in Costa Rica, you may cross paths with it at Manuelita and the Islas Catalinas. It has no season: at most of these sites, it shows up all year round.

How do you dive with hawksbill turtles?

A turtle feeding on the reef lets you approach if you come slowly, from the side, never above it: it must be able to go up and breathe at any moment. No contact, no chasing, no bursts of flash. A disturbed turtle abandons its meal and leaves the site for the day, sometimes longer.