Caretta Caretta - Loggerhead Turtle

The Loggerhead turtle, or to use its Latin name Caretta Caretta, has existed for 175 million years, since the days of the dinosaurs, and has been nesting on the beaches of Zakynthos for many thousands of years. The bay of Laganas consists of beautiful sandy beaches and resembles a lagoon with two small islands, the islands of Peluzo and Marathonisi, otherwise known as ‘Turtle Island’.

In-between the shores of Geraka and Marathia lies the Marine Park and it is here that the Caretta Caretta comes to lay her eggs. The nesting season is from late May to August and during this time the female turtle will return to the beach where she hatched in order to lay her own eggs, each turtle can do this up to 4 times during a season. Once on the beaches they will dig a hole approximately one metre deep, which is quite a feat for these cumbersome animals, and lay between 100 and 120 eggs. The mother turtle then covers up her eggs with sand and makes her way back to the sea, leaving them to their fate. The babies start to hatch after an incubation period of up to 60 days; the temperature of the sand where the eggs were laid will determine the sex of the turtles. They then have to make one of the most important and dangerous journeys of their lives, they have to make it to the sea, avoiding any predators and at the same time memorizing the beach so that they can return to it once they mature to repeat the reproduction process. Many dangers threaten the baby turtles, predators such as birds, fish and man made dangers such as fishermen’s nets.

Severe weather conditions and temperature changes all add to the incredible statistics which tell us that out of every 1000 eggs laid, only 1 or 2 will actually reach maturity. Those who do manage to reach maturity, however, can live up to 180 years and their shell can measure up to 120cm in diameter.

Monachus Monachus – Mediterranean Monk Seal

The Greek word for monk is ‘monachus’ and the seal was given its name by the ancients because of the cowl like flap of skin at the back of its neck. It is said that in the times of ancient Greece the monk seals were protected by the gods Poseidon and Apollo because of their great love of the sea and of the sun. Coins dating back to around 500 BC depict the head of the monk seal; they were also mentioned by Homer around 750 BC.

The male Mediterranean monk seal weighs approximately 315kg and has an average length of 2.4m. The female seals are slightly smaller and lighter, weighing around 300kg. The colourings of the adult seals are mainly brown or grey along their backs with lighter colourings on their bellies, which usually have a white patch. Seal pups weigh 16-18kg at birth and measure 88-103cm in length.

Humans have unfortunately driven the Mediterranean monk seal from its original habitat and the females will now choose to pup in caves in more remote and mainly undisturbed areas. The seals are sensitive to human disturbance and the numbers of the Mediterranean monk seal have dropped to between 300-500. Their usual habitat is the Mediterranean and the coast of North West Africa. There are colonies in Mauritania/Western Sahara, Turkey and Greece, Zakynthos has around 10. They reach sexual maturity around the age of 4-5 and the lifespan of a seal in the wild is 20-30 years.

The Mediterranean monk seal feeds in shallow coastal waters on eels, sardines, tuna, lobster, flatfish and mullets. They are also partial to octopus. Each day they need to consume 5% of their body weight which for a large adult can mean eating 15kg of food a day.

Programme

• Visit Kalamaki to see the nesting areas of the Caretta caretta, with the advice and permission of the Marine Park.
• Excursion by boat to see the turtles in their natural habitat and stop for swimming at beautiful Marathonisi Island
• Visit the area of the Monachus Monachus, and a chance to see the seals if we are lucky.