Turtles...for dad

Making a turtle nest in the warm sand















Placing the eggsin the nest
















Seriously once in a life time opportunity! who else can say they re-buried turtle eggs and waited for them to hatch and help them back to the sea .


So dad, you wanted a post just about turtles! Here you are, i'm going to bore you with all the facts i have learnt about Turtles ( which is what i tell the tourists when i am showing them around) .


At the Peraliya Turtle Farm, we have 5 different species of Sea Turtle ; Green Turtle, Logger head, Hawks bill , Olive Ridley and the very rare Leather Back.
The farm is owned and run my Nimal, but was started by his father in 2000. Sadly after the Tsunami hit, the farm was destroyed and Nimal lost all his family, including his wife and 3 young children.
Nimal was able to re-build most of the farm/Hatchery with the help of the Hikkaduwa Area Relief Fund in the UK, many volunteers (like myself ) helped build it with him. Although it still needs alot of work, Nimal has helped hundreds of thousands of turtles back to the sea.
He charges a R.300 entry fee to tourists and encourages donations, however i do not like to get involved in that... so i let him explain his story.


now the boring stuff....
Green turtles - The Green sea turtle is largest hard-shelled sea turtle. Adults of the species commonly reach 1.5 m in diameter and 150 kg . The average size of a female is 1.8 m. These turtles are also famous, as they were featured in the film "Finding Nemo". We have one at the farm, i named her Elle. In my opinion they are the most attractive turtles and are very gentle.


Hawks bill Turtles - the Smallest of our sea turtles. Can reach up to 1 m in diameter and average weight of 65kg. They are given their name because of their beak like mouth. Years ago, their shells used to be sold for making fine jewelry , handbags and window displays. They have a beautifle paint splatted shell .


Leather back Turtle - The leather back is the largest living turtle and is so distinctive that it is placed in its own separate family, Dermochelys. All other sea turtles have bony hard plates on their shells . The leather back’s shell is slightly flexible and has a rubbery texture. No sharp angle is formed between the shell and the under-belly so a leatherback is somewhat barrel-shaped.The front flippers of a leatherback are longer than in the other marine turtles, Even when you take the leather back’s size into account. They can reach 2.5m in diameter and weigh up to 600kg .


Logger Head Turtle - The shell of adult logger head is reddish-brown.
Average body mass about 113 kg. they can reach up to 1.9m in diameter. Hatchling's can vary colour from light to dark brown.
Flippers are dark brown with white margins. The belly and other under Parts have a faded yellow ochre appearance.


Olive Ridley Turtle - The Olive Ridley is usually less than 100 pounds and named for the olive color of its heart-shaped shell. This is an omnivorous turtle. It forages offshore in surface water or dives to depths of at least 150 meters (500 Feet) to feed on bottom dwelling shrimp, Crabs, Sea urchins and other animals crustacens, mollusks and tunicates. Olive Ridley are sometimes seen feeding on jellyfish in surface waters. But it is a problem as they can often mistake plastic bags for jelly fish.

So far, my work has involved; draining the tanks and re-filling them with fresh sea water. Cleaning the tanks, which involves getting into the smelly tank and scrubbing the algae off the walls ( can take up to 2 hours per tank :( .) Feeding time, where i carry each of the turtles to the feeding tank, and chuck in a bucket of fish. Giving tours (thats the fun part). Releasing babies (the highlight of my day :) .
I usually start work around 9am and finish at 1pm. I only have a few days left of it, so i'm taking loadsa pictures !