Sea turtles spend most of their lives in the ocean. Female sea turtles, which reach the adult phase between the ages of 20 and 50, return to the beaches where they were born to lay their eggs. During their journey on the beach, they leave tracks. But here’s the fascinating part: their journey leaves behind telltale tracks on the sand, offering clues about their nesting success!
Rangers use these tracks to locate turtle nests, which allows them to collect essential data and relocate eggs threatened by high tides, poachers, or predators.
Typically, a sea turtle leaves two sets of tracks—one for its journey to the nesting site and another for its return to the sea. Sometimes, we see circular tracks, which indicate a false crawl—when a turtle does not lay eggs due to disturbances or unsuitable beach conditions.
Looking at these tracks, can you figure out how many turtles climbed onto Bilang-bilangan Island in Berau?
The answer is that 4 sea turtles successfully nested, and 3 sea turtles made false crawls. Was your guess correct? 🙂
Do you know that we can also identify sea turtle species from the shape of their tracks? Stay tuned for another article where we’ll discuss this fascinating topic! If you’re as captivated by sea turtles as we are, follow the exciting journey of the Indonesian Sea Turtle Foundation (YPI) as we continue to unravel the wonders of these incredible creatures and their habitats!
