Loggerhead Turtles (caretta caretta) are found in coral reefs, bays and estuaries in tropical and subtropical waters around the world; including the coast of Queensland, Northern Territory, New South Wales and Western Australia - including Coral Bay.

Loggerheads are carnivorous, feeding mostly on shellfish, crabs, sea urchins and jellyfish.

Characteristics include:

• 5 pairs (rarely 6) of large scales on each side (coastal scales)

• Carapace (protective, shell-like covering on the back of the turtle) longer than wide

• Adult carapace approx. 1.0m

• Colour red-brown to brown

The loggerhead turtle has lost 50-80% of its annual nesting population in the last decade. Further loss of only hundreds of large loggerhead turtles may threaten the survival of the species in Australia.
In Australia, loggerheads nest on the southern Great Barrier Reef and adjacent mainland coastal areas. Other significant nesting areas are in Western Australia including Murion Island, Ningaloo (Coral Bay) and further south near Shark Bay.

Females originally tagged near the south east Queensland rookeries have been recaptured in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, the Northern Territory, New South Wales and other parts of Queensland.

Similarly, Loggerheads tagged in Western Australia have been recaptured in the Northern Territory, Indonesia and other parts of Western Australia.

Loggerhead turtles nest from late October, reaching a peak in late December and finish nesting in late February. Hatchlings emerge from nests from late December until about April with most hatching from February to early March.

The loggerhead is one of the more visible turtles on the lower west coast of Western Australia, with resident adult and large sub-adult turtles sometimes found in the Perth region. Small young-of-the year (post-hatchling) loggerheads from the Gascoyne region breeding beaches are also regularly washed ashore during winter-early spring after westerly storms around the south and lower western coasts of Western Australia.

The main threat to Western Australian coastal-nesting loggerhead turtles is the risk of predation of nests and hatchlings by foxes which invaded the Ningaloo coast in the 1940s and early 1950s. Fox baiting programs implemented at Ningaloo coast nesting beaches have reduced nest predation rates. Continuing enhanced reproductive success resulting from the fox-baiting programs will potentially assist recovery of numbers in the Ningaloo Coast area.

There are however unresolved regional commercial trawl and longline fisheries interaction problems of the past that affected all populations.

Disturbance to mainland nesting loggerheads from vehicles driving on beaches and uncontrolled tourist interactions also occurs.

This page not only has a lot of information about marine turtles, but have a look at my other related topics including:

• Life-cycle of Marine Turtles

• Green Turtles

• Marine Turtles at Coral Bay,Ningaloo Reef

• Hawksbill Turtles

Green Turtles (chelonia mydas) are found worldwide in tropical and sub-tropical waters in seaweed-rich coral reefs and inshore seagrass pastures. Adult greens feed mostly on seaweeds and seagrasses although immature greens are carnivorous.

Characteristics include:

• 4 pairs of large scales on either side (coastal scales)

• Does not have thick overlapping scales

• Carapace protective, shell-like covering on the back of the turtle)high domed

• Adult carapace approx. 1.0m

• Colour light to dark green with dark mottling

There are seven distinct genetic stocks in Australia, including the Coral Bay area with the coastal North-West Shelf stock off the Pilbara coast being the largest group found in Western Australia.

There are between 20,000-30,000 Green turtles in Western Australia - being the most common species of turtle in WA.

The numbers of Green turtles that nest each season in Western Australia is affected by the El Nino, so numbers visiting a breeding beach can vary between a few dozens to hundreds in very poor seasons and many thousands during the good season. Their nesting areas are found on the sandy mainland beaches of the Ningaloo and in season you can book an extra tour to see this.

Resident adult greens can be seen along the edge of the reefs and cliffs at Coral Bay. You can take a stroll along the beach, following the lagoon, for about 2km and there are a couple of wonderful areas on the rocks where you can sit and watch them. As part of your 11 day tour, if you choose to go on the quad bike tour, this includes viewing the turtles. There is also a chance you will see one just snorkelling at the main beach in Coral Bay.

The larger sized, mainly female adult turtles are harvested for food by Aboriginal people living along the northern coast. If turtle eggs are readily accessible, they will also be collected. Expatriate Torres Strait Islanders and other Indigenous 'salt-water' people living off-country in Western Australian communities such as the Dampier-Karratha area are also known to be hunters of green turtles.
Indonesian fishers are also known exploiters of green turtles in Australian waters.

Legal commercial turtle harvesting took place in Western Australia from as early as 1870. Between 1931 and 1936 a turtle soup factory operated at Cossack (near Karratha). It is estimated that up to 2,500 large green turtles were taken annually from around the Dampier Archipelago and Montebello Islands. In the 1940's-1950's an unregulated green turtle harvest continued to supply soup canneries in Perth and Cossack.

Between 1958 and 1973, a commercial turtle fishery authorised by State fisheries legislation operated along the north-west coast. Green turtles were taken for harvest from Coral Bay to the Montebello Islands. It is estimated that at least 60,000 green turtles were caught. Commercial products were exported to mainly European markets.

Migrating adult greens are known to cross international boundaries. For example, breeding female green turtles tagged and released from nesting beaches in Western Australia have been captured in Indonesia.

This page not only has a lot of information about marine turtles, but have a look at my other related topics including:

• Life-cycle of Marine Turtles

• Marine Turtles at Coral Bay, Ningaloo Reef

• Loggerhead Turtles

• Hawksbill Turtles

The Ningaloo Region has been identified as having significant beaches for the life cycle of marine turtles nesting. Three main species of marine turtles nest on the Ningaloo Coast:

• Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas)

• Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta)

• Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)

Young marine turtles drift and feed in the open ocean. When they are about dinner plate size, turtles settle near inshore feeding grounds.

Marine turtles grow slowly and take between 30 and 50 years to reach sexual maturity. They live for years in the one place before they are ready to make the long breeding migration of up to 3,000 kilometres from the feeding grounds to nesting beaches.

During the breeding season, between November and February, you can book a tour to see the Green, Loggerhead and Hawksbill turtles (three of the world's seven marine turtle species) come ashore to lay their eggs or to see the hatchlings rushing back to the sea.

After reaching sexual maturity, the life cycle of marine turtles breed for several decades, although there may be intervals between breeding of several years.

When breeding, nesting females return to the same area, thought to be in the area of where they were born.

Courtship and mating take place in shallow waters near the nesting beach. Females often mate with more than one male and after mating, the males return to their feeding grounds.

When ready to lay eggs, the female turtle crawls out of the sea to above the high water mark, usually about one hour before, to about two hours after, the night high tide.

In preparation for nesting, the female turtle scrapes away loose sand with all four flippers to form a body pit. She then excavates a vertical pear-shaped egg chamber with the hind flippers. Often, the sand is unsuitable for nesting, especially if it is too dry, and the turtle moves on to another site. For most turtle species, digging the nest takes about 45 minutes. It then takes another 10 to 20 minutes to lay the clutch of leathery shelled eggs. Each clutch contains about 100 white, spherical, "ping-pong" ball sized eggs.

After laying, the turtle fills the egg chamber with sand using the hind flippers, and then fills the body pit using all her four flippers. The nests can be covered to a depth of more than a metre by sand blown over it during the incubation of the eggs. The turtle finally crawls back to sea, entering the water about one to two hours after leaving it. Green turtles may take longer to nest.

While on the beach, fluid hangs from the turtle's eyes. This is a concentrated salt solution which helps to remove excess salt ingested by the turtle from drinking sea water. This solution also washes the eyes free of sand.

A female green turtle usually lays six clutches of eggs at two weekly intervals. Between nesting efforts, female turtles gather adjacent to the nesting beaches. They return to the same beach to lay consecutive clutches as part of the life cycle of marine turtles.

Incubation time and sex of the hatchlings depend on the temperature of the sand. Warm, dark sand produces mostly females and the eggs hatch in seven to eight weeks. Eggs laid in cool, white sand mostly result in males and the eggs take longer to hatch.

After hatching, the babies take a few days to dig their way through the sand to the surface.
When leaving the nest, usually at night, hatchlings head for the ocean. Hatchlings can be easily disoriented and attracted to bright lights such as street and house lights - this contributes to many hatchling deaths.

Most hatchlings reach the sea although crabs and sea birds attack them on the beach. During their first few hours in the water, these young turtles face heavy predation by sharks and other fishes.
In February and early March, turtles hatch and venture into the sea.

Then the life cycle of marine turtles continue with the next generation.

This page not only has a lot of information about marine turtles, but have a look at my other related topics including:

• Marine Turtles at Coral Bay, Ningaloo Reef

• Green Turtles

• Loggerhead Turtles

• Hawksbill Turtles

Ningaloo Reef is one of the world's major breeding areas for sea turtles. During the breeding season, between November and February, you can book a tour to see the Green, Loggerhead and Hawksbill turtles (three of the world's seven marine turtle species) come ashore to lay their eggs or to see the hatchlings rushing back to the sea.

The nesting is becoming increasingly popular as a nature-based tourism experience in Coral Bay.
Foxes are the single biggest predator of the turtle nests where in some instances they are digging up to 60 percent of the nest to eat the eggs. They also prey on hatchlings as they emerge from the sand.

Baiting is carried out at strategic locations along the coastal strip to protect the major turtle nesting sites. Other threats include over-harvesting of turtles and eggs, predation of hatchlings by birds, feral pigs, dogs and goannas, pollution and changes to important habitats, especially nesting beaches. Four-wheel drives are another threat to the turtles because the tyre grooves they leave behind can create trenches that the hatchlings fall into, preventing them reaching the sea.

The effectiveness of conservation operations can be increased if people are more aware of the impact their activities can have on the turtles.

Turtles need the beach

Marine turtles have lived in the oceans for more than 100 million years. They are an integral part of the traditional culture of many indigenous peoples throughout the world. Even though they spend much of their lives drifting and feeding in the open ocean, the beach is an important nesting habitat for turtles.

Turtles live for years in one place before they are ready to make the long breeding migration of up to 3,000 kilometres from their feeding grounds to nesting beaches. Courtship and mating take place in shallow waters near the nesting beach. Females often mate with more than one male. After mating, the males return to the feeding grounds. They have a large shell called a carapace, four strong, paddle-like flippers and like all reptiles, lungs for breathing air. The characteristic beak-like mouth is used to shear or crush food.

Marine Turtles of the Ningaloo Reef

Turtles tagged in the Ningaloo Reef area, have been recorded off the coast of Java, in Indonesia, within the Gulf of Carpentaria Reef and the Lacepede Islands. It is important for the conservation of marine turtles in the Ningaloo Region to help contribute to marine turtle global conservation. Marine turtles are under immense pressure from a range of activities including illegal trade and harvest; unsustainable harvest; some forms of commercial fishing such as trawling and long-lining; and loss of habitat such as seagrass beds, coral reef ecosystems and intact coastlines. In the Ningaloo regions specifically, marine turtles face the following pressures:

• Fox predation

• Inappropriate recreational and tourism

• Activities such as disturbance and four-wheel driving on nesting beaches

• Boat strikes

• Specific fishing practices, such as long lining

• Pollution from developments both marine and land based

This page not only has a lot of information about marine turtles, but check out the other related topics including:

• Life-cycle of Marine Turtles

• Green Turtles

• Loggerhead Turtles

• Hawksbill Turtles

It cries almost like a baby, looks almost like one and acts in many ways like one; that's why its called a bush baby. Bush babies( also known as the lesser galagos) are nocturnal creatures. They have digits like those of a man except for the little finger which is almost nonexistent. Its eyes are luminous at night and its fur is of a tawny colour. It is a very nimble creature, lively and very, very entertaining to watch.

There are a lot of wildlife enthusiasts like me out there who would love to know more about this and other west African fauna. If you visit the Drill Ranch, the forests of the Cameroon Mountains or even the Agbokim Waterfalls all in Cross River State of Nigeria and its border with Cameroon you are bound to see many of these creatures in the wild. All you need is a Guide and some secure accommodation as well as some mobility and you can explore the beauty and innocence of the African Jungle.

Of course the state is also replete with rich vegetation, minerals (some very precious; please don't tell anyone) and human potentials not to mention the mere beauty and diversity of its landscape. The peoples culture, a matter of further discussion, is also a sight to behold. Talk about their masquerades, male and female initiation ceremonies, seasonal festivals just to mention a few and then the more modern Calabar Christmas Carnival which has become an annual celebration.

This region also boasts of the best hospitality services and visitors will be surprised to see five star hotels set in very remote parts such as Obudu and Ikom which happens to be where I live.
Exploring the lush flora and fauna of Cross River State is a must for every nature lover like me.

Anyone who spends time outside needs to understand a little about the nature of poison ivy and what to do if you or a loved one becomes infected. Knowing how to recognize the plant, the basic symptoms, and how to treat the condition can make a big difference. Here are a few facts that you should have at your fingertips.

Poison ivy grows wild in a number of places around North America. The plant may appear as a shrub or a vine that runs up a tree or creeps along the forest floor. Generally, the leaves are smooth-edged, although some varieties of poison ivy do have notched leaves. The important to remember is that in spite of the difference in the shape of the leaves, all forms of the poison ivy plant grow leaves in groups of three.

This is contracted by coming in contact with the sap that collects on the leaves. When this oily sap comes in contact with human skin, the possibility of contracting poison ivy is very likely. Keep in mind the physical contact has to be plant to skin. It is not possible to catch it from clothing or brushing your hand across the coat of a pet.

Another set of poison ivy facts to keep in mind is the symptoms of the condition. Often, the first sign is a red rash that gets larger and redder with time. Next, itching will develop, along with the possibility of a fever. Finally, the rash may erupt into blisters that can be painful and become infected when they burst. If at all possible, begin treatments as soon as the first symptoms appear.

Last, understanding how to treat poison ivy is very important. Treatments range from over the counter products to herbal remedies to prescription medications, depending on the severity of the condition. When it comes to the facts, the most important one to keep in mind is that getting the right treatment will make all the difference in the amount of pain and suffering you have to face.