Ascension 2
VulcanSpirit
Richard & Alison Brunstrom
Mon 15 Feb 2016 06:18
Here are turtle tracks on the beach:
And a nest:
The females come ashore to nest at night. Here is one laying her eggs (the red light does not disturb her):
These animals come ashore several times during the season, laying a clutch of about 100 eggs each time, two weeks apart. They must drag themselves up the beach for over 100m (they weigh 250kg, so that alone is exhausting), then dig a pit big enough to get her entire body below the beach surface using only her flippers, then scoop out an egg chamber with her hind flippers, then cover the nest with a mound of loose sand to disguise it, and then get back to the sea before dawn. She leaves behind a large crater, which cleverly is not where the eggs are. At peak season in March perhaps 400 turtles per night nest on this one beach! At present it's about 50.
The males never come ashore again after hatching.
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