Hawksbill Sea Turtle/ All About The Hawksbill Turtle

 Hawksbill Sea Turtle/ All About The Hawksbill Turtle 

The hawksbill sea turtle is a smaller species of sea turtle. Hawksbill sea turtle belongs to the family Cheloniidae and only extant species of sea turtle in the genus Erectmochelys. They are found worldwide in Atlantic, Pacific and Indian ocean where they like to spend most of their time in lagoons and coral reefs. This colorful turtle species is killed for its beautiful carapace, eggs and flesh. Hawksbill turtle is listed a critically endangered sea turtle species in IUCN Red List. It gets its common name for its narrow head and hawk-like beak. The trade in hawksbill has been banned today by the International Trade Convention Endangered Species (CITES). 

Description of Hawksbill Sea Turtle 

Hawksbill turtle is not very large in size. It can grow up to 3 feet in length and weight can reach 80kg. Its flattened body is heart-shaped. Its bony carapace has no ridges. The pattern of the scutes which make up the carapace of the species make the hawksbill turtle unique. Top of its carapace has five central bony plates which are called scutes. These scutes overlap and give a rear margine of the carapace a serrated look. Their strikingly colored carapace has an amber background patterned with streaks of orange, red and black. The bottom of its carapace is pale yellow in color. Unique to hawksbill sea turtle is two visible claws on each flipper of its forelimbs. Male hawksbill turtle is brighter in color and has longer claws and thicker tail.  Hawksbill turtle head ends in a point and its toothless strong V-shaped jaw, resembling a bird’s hooked, sharp beak that give the hawksbill turtle its name and make the species unique. Hawksbill turtle has 4 prefrontal scales between its eyes.

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Where Do Hawksbill Sea Turtle Live? 

Hawksbill Turtles are found mainly in tropical reefs of the Indian Ocean, Pacific Oceans and Atlantic Oceans. Two main known sub populations are the Atlantic sub-population and Indi-Pacific sub-population. Hawksbill turtles live in different habitat at different stages of their life cycle. In the Atlantic Oceans, Hawksbill Turtles are found in the Brazilian coast, southern Florida and the waters off Virginia and Texas. 

In the Caribbean, the Hawksbill turtles live in the Lesser Antilles, Barbados, Tortuguero in Costa Rica, Yucatan, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. In Florida, they are found in the reefs of Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Monroe Counties and Broward. 

In the Pacific, Hawksbill turtles live in Mexico and main nesting populations are found along the Eastern Pacific coast of the Americas from Mexico to Ecuador, include El Salvador, Nicaragua. 

In Indian Ocean, Hawksbill turtles are found in African coast,Red Sea, southern coast of Asia, Persian Gulf, coastal waters of Indian sub continent, south-east Asia, the seas surrounding Madagascar and nearby islands groups, northern part of Australia and Malay Archipelago. 

Hawksbill turtles are are also found from the south western tips of the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese Archipelago, New Zealand. In Hawaii, Oahu, Maui, Molokai and Hawaii islans are the  nesting grounds of  the Hawksbill turtles and in Australia, their nesting ground is on Milman Island in the Great Barrier Reef. 

 Australia and Solomon Islands are the largest nesting ground of Hawksbill turtles. Foraging hawksbill turtles are found from the Galapagos Islands in the eastern Pacific to the Republic of Palau in the western Pacific. Hawksbill turtles are known to nest on islands and mainland of Asia from China to Japan and all over the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Solomon Islands and Australia. 

In the eastern Pacific Hawksbill turtles forage and nest in mangrove, bays and estuaries that are present in the Bahia de Jiquilisco, Estero Padre Ramos, Gulf of Fonseca and Gulf of Guayaquil. The Hawksbill Turtles do not live in Mediterranean Sea.

 

What Do Hawksbill Sea Turtle Eat? 

Hawksbill sea turtles are omnivorous or can be called spongivorous because their main food is sea sponges which make the turtle’s 70% to 95% of diet. However, they do not eat all species of sea sponges, they prefer to eat only selected species such as Aaptos aaptos, Chondrilla nucula, Tethya actinia, Spheciospongia vesparium which is commonly known as loggerhead sponge and Suberites domuncula. These sponges and other sea animals which are eaten by Hawksbill turtle are toxic but the body fat of the turtle absorbs the toxins without making them ill but meat of the turtle is poisonous to humans. 

Hawksbill turtle are omnivores so they eat jellyfish, marine algae, small fish, mollusks, sea urchin crustaceans. Dangerous jellyfish-like hydrozoan such as the Portuguese man o' war which is found in the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Oceans are also eaten by hawksbill turtle. 

Their unique beak-like mouths and sharp beaks help them to reach into small holes and cracks in coral reefs to find their food. Their beaks help them to crush, bite and tear the food. In a year, Hawksbill turtles eat an average of 1200 pounds of sponges. 

Reproduction of Hawksbill Sea Turtle 

Hawksbill sea turtle reach maturity after the age of 20. The Caribbean hawksbill turtles reach maturity between 10 and 25 years and the Indo-Pacific region may reach between 30 to 35 years. Hawksbill turtles are solitary for most of their lives and only meet with the partner and their copulation takes place in the ocean water. They make incredible migration with a mixed migratory strategy from their feeding sites to their nesting grounds. The Atlantic hawksbill turtle’s nesting season occurs from April to November and the Indian Oceans hawksbills turtle’s mating season occurs from September to February. Every two to five years, female hawksbill turtle comes back to their natal beach to lay their eggs, where once they were born. At night, the female hawksbill turtle leaves the sea water and comes to the beach. 

After reaching its home beach, female hawksbill turtle first clears the area of any debris with her front flippers and throws sand backward and dig a pit by using its hind flippers. Then it lays 130 to 160 eggs in the pit and covers the pit with sand. Then the female hawksbill leaves the beach. After incubate for 60 days the eggs start to hatch. At night, two-inch hatchlings, weighing less than 24 g emerge as a group. They are attracted by the reflection of the moon on the water and find their way from the nest to the sea. this is the most dangerous time of their lives because they are eaten by shore birds, shore crabs, and other predators before they reach the water by daybreak. Generally hawksbill turtle can live around 30 to 50 years.

Threats to the Hawksbill Turtle

The hawksbill sea turtle face various dangers at every stage of their lives. Only a few in a thousand Hawksbill hatchlings survive to adulthood. Their population have reduced in the past few decades due to human’s demand for their meat, skin, eggs and shells, bycatch in commercial fishing gear, illegal trade, consumption, and climate change are the main reasons for their threat. 

Hawksbill sea turtles are eaten as a delicacy in many parts of the world. Since Egyptian times, turtles have been hunted for their beautiful brown and yellow carapace plates and the materials were called tortoiseshell. 

Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), international trading of the hawksbill turtles and their parts is prohibited but yet illegal trafficking persists. Their beautiful brown and yellow carapace plates are used for making jewelry, ornaments and decorating a variety of small items. East Asia has provided a keen market for tortoiseshell in recent decades. 

Vehicle traffic on beaches, uncontrolled coastal development and other human activities are the major causes of damage and destruction of hawksbill sea turtle nesting beaches worldwide. Small mammals dig up the sand to eat their eggs such as ants, crabs, rats, raccoons, foxes, coyotes, feral cats, dogs, mongoose and vultures and the human also collect the eggs from the nest to eat and sell. Juvenile turtles are eaten by various sea birds, fish and invertebrates and the adults are killed by sharks and killer whales. Many local people depend on turtle products for income such as meat, eggs, shells and the tortoiseshell so they hunt or catch the hawksbill turtle. 

Every year thousands of sea turtles are injured or killed in fishing gear. It is estimated that 4,600 turtles are killed every year due to fishing. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) warns against the consumption of hawksbill turtle meat. hawksbill turtles eat toxin-containing sponges which can cause neurotoxicity, kidney disease, liver cancer and even death. 

 The Marine Turtle Specialist Group (MTSG) presented data that showed that in the last 100–135 years, the hawksbill turtle population had declined by 80%. 

How many hawksbill sea turtles are left in the world? 

The hawksbill turtle population had declined by 80% in the last 100–135 years and by the IUCN they are currently classified as Critically Endangered. It is estimated that about 25,000 nesting females survive across their range in the tropics. A large number of nesting hawkbill females are found in the Caribbean region, with populations between 20 and 30 percent. 

Why are hawksbill sea turtles becoming extinct? 

The population of hawksbill turtles have reduced in the past few decades due to human’s demand for their meat, skin, eggs and shells, bycatch in commercial fishing gear, illegal trade, consumption, and climate change are the main reasons for their threat. Their beautiful brown and yellow carapace plates are used for making jewelry, ornaments and decorating a variety of small items. Vehicle traffic on beaches, uncontrolled coastal development and other human activities are the major causes of damage and destruction of hawksbill turtle nesting beaches worldwide. Every year thousands of sea turtles are injured or killed in fishing gear. It is estimated that 4,600 turtles are killed every year due to fishing. Many local people depend on turtle products for income such as meat, eggs, shells and the tortoiseshell so they hunt or catch the hawksbill turtle. 

Is the hawksbill sea turtle endangered? 

The Marine Turtle Specialist Group (MTSG) presented data that showed that in the last 100–135 years, the hawksbill turtle population had declined by 80% and by the IUCN they are currently classified as Critically Endangered. 

Why is the hawksbill sea turtle important? 

Hawksbill turtle's main food is sponges which make the turtle’s 70% to 95% of diet. In a year, Hawksbill turtles eat an average of 1200 pounds of sponges. Their sponge consumption is very important to maintain the health of coral reefs by keeping fast-growing sponges at bay and allowing slow-growing coral to grow. Coral reefs are habitats and shelter for thousands of marine organisms and also protect the coast from wave action and storms. The coral reefs are an important revenue generator for many countries through tourism and have cultural significance. By transporting the animals that live on them, hawksbill turtles play an important role in creating and maintaining diversity in the oceans around the world because they migrate huge distances from their feeding sites to nesting sites 

Do hawksbill sea turtles eat jellyfish? 

Hawksbill sea turtles are omnivorous or can be called spongivorous because their main food is sea sponges. As they are omnivores, Hawksbill turtle eat sea urchin crustaceans, small fish, marine algae, jellyfish, mollusks. Dangerous jellyfish-like hydrozoan such as the Portuguese man o' war which is found in the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Oceans are also eaten by hawksbill turtle. 

How Did The Hawksbill Turtle Get Its Name? 

Hawksbill turtle head ends in a point and its toothless strong V-shaped jaw, resembling a bird’s hooked, sharp beak that give the hawksbill turtle its name and make the species unique. Their unique beak-like mouths and sharp beaks help them to reach into small holes and cracks in coral reefs to find their food. Their beaks help them to crush, bite and tear the food.

What Are Hawksbill Turtles Predators? 

female hawksbill turtle first clears the area of any debris with her front flippers and throws sand backward and dig a pit by using its hind flippers. Then it lays 130 to 160 eggs in the pit and covers the pit with sand. Then the female hawksbill leaves the beach. Small mammals dig up the sand to eat their eggs such as ants, crabs, rats, raccoons, foxes, coyotes, feral cats, dogs, mongoose and vultures and the human also collect the eggs from the nest to eat and sell. Juvenile turtles are eaten by various sea birds, fish and invertebrates and the adults are killed by sharks and killer whales.