Photos of the Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydos) at the beach of East island, Midway/Hawaii

In the past there were millions of Green Sea Turtles (Chelonia mydos).
Nowadays, there are presumably only 200,000 worldwide. Every year, between 200 and 350 female turtles come to the nesting beaches of the French Frigate Shoals in the north-west of the Hawaiian archipelago.
This solitary and isolated atoll offers good living conditions for sea birds and for the Green Sea Turtle. But every year, when the albatrosses are fledged, there are also other visitors coming to the French Frigate Shoals: the big Tiger Sharks.
You can see the Green Sea Turtle, which is strictly protected here, in the lagoon and on the beaches of the Midway Atoll as well. But as it is very sensitive against human influence, it doesn’t nest here; it only comes to search for food.
The animals – their carapace length is 80 to 120 centimetres with a weight of up to 250 kilograms – are excellent divers and can stay under water for a long time. Green Sea Turtles feed on sea grass, algae, sponges, soft corals, jellyfish, cancers, octopuses and fish. Adult animals are pure vegetarians.
In the past, Green Sea Turtles were called “Soup Turtles” and were considered a delicacy in some countries. Through the destruction of their breeding beaches, the pollution of their habitat and their use as a food, they are almost exterminated and extremely threatened by extinction.

Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydos)

Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydos) Eien

Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydos)

© Klaus Jost - wildlife- & nature- & underwater
All texts and pictures present at this website, are protected by international copyright laws. Each kind of the duplication, which is manipulating or storage of pictures without the written permission of Klaus Jost is expressly forbidden.