Vaavoshi Turtle Festival
Following the lead of our last article, let’s continue on the turtle subject. We are very excited with the upcoming Turtle Festival happening on June 22nd.
The event is being organized by the Olive Ridley Project team, and will take place at Hithaadhoo, a local island here in Baa Atoll.
With the support of resorts and diving centers, the event will bring together children from all around Baa Atoll to have a day of education and fun at Hithaadhoo island. There will be stalls with games and activities, presentations held by environmental organizations, music, art competition and food, of course. The aim is to have an educational day to raise awareness of the threats to sea turtles.
We will come back with the highlights of the Turtle Festival at the end of this month. Keep an eye at our blog!
For now, we leave you with some fun facts about sea turtles.
Did you know?
- Green turtles can rest up to 5 hours underwater before coming up to breathe;
- As happens to all reptiles, the sex of the turtle is determined after fertilization. The incubation temperature will determine the sex. It is said that 29 degrees Celsius will have a 50:50 ratio, but lower temperatures will mostly result in males and higher ones in females. In times of climate change and global warming, this could also pose as a threat to them.
- Sea turtles imprint their natal area, meaning that the females will return to the same beach where they were born to lay their eggs.
Once they hatch, a fight for survival starts as they have to escape predators, animals and humans. Only 1 in 1000 turtles will survive to adulthood. - The shell of the Green Turtle is not actually green. The greenish fat under their shell gives them the name.
