The Tribune | Weekend | 15
Friday, November 12, 2021
animals Animal matters Kim Aranha
PET OF THE WEEK
A wondrous ambassador
By The Bahamas Humane Society
PHOTO/LINDA GILL-ARANHA
W
hat a simply wonderful animal the sea turtle is. This sentiment has been expressed before and will be again and again, but I do think that it is important to remind people why this statement is accurate, especially today when we are blessed with an environmentally-minded, conservationist government. In the Bahamas we have several species, in fact we are fortunate to have five out of the seven species of sea turtles. They are: Green, loggerhead, hawksbill, leatherback and Kemp’s ridley turtles. Every now and then you will see an olive ridley turtle in the Bahamas. The seventh species is the flatback turtle. Every one of these turtles is on the “threatened” list. Many years ago, the Bahamas made a brilliant choice and banned all fishing and capture of any sea turtle. This decision has benefitted the Bahamas and the world. Some may ask, why is the sea turtle so wonderful? To start with, they share the same ancestors that dinosaurs have. The first turtles lived side by side with dinosaurs and most of the species of turtles are descendants of the ancient turtles of dinosaur times. How amazing is that! They have stood the test of time so much better than many other species. Nothing can put a smile on a diver’s face quicker than an encounter with a turtle. They are simply beautiful and graceful when in water, swimming almost as if flying through the sea. Many turtles have become very trusting of humans since the protection act came into effect. There are dive charter groups all over the Bahama islands that promise dives with turtles now. The turtles wait, gambolling around the coral head for the arrival of a boatful of excited tourists who all who have paid handsomely for this privilege. Talk about photo ops! The sea turtle is naturally photogenic with a shy and rather inquisitive expression on this beguiling little
Meet your new exercise partner
face in spite of a rather impressive beak. In fact, there are many diving operations that now have swim with turtle excursions. The tourists love the privilege of sharing the sea with these friendly and trusting creatures. I am always delighted by how our Ministry of Tourism frequently includes photos of turtles in their travel literature. The magnificent protected turtle is a selling point to visit our islands. Apart from being some of the best ambassadors this country has, they are also essential to the well-being of the sea. They are considered a “keystone species”. This means that should their numbers be depleted, or if they were to become extinct, their absence would have a serious effect on the animals who share their space and the environment. What an enormous responsibility to lay on any animal!
A loggerhead turtle
With high energy and ready to roll, Sheba’s a happy potcake of about two years who will always have a “cute” head tilt due to a neck injury early in life. This doesn’t stop her from experiencing life to the fullest, so she’ll need a family who can help her work off her energy with playtimes and walks, and maybe swims at the beach. Sheba’s good with children, dogs, and even the cats. If you’ve been looking for the perfect exercise partner, Sheba One of the essential duties of the turtle is to keep the sea grass at the prescribed (by nature) length. This keeps the sea beds healthy and, amongst other things, enables the seagrass beds to effectively store carbon (who listened to Prime Minister Philip Davis’s speech at the COP26?). Seagrass meadows are disappearing daily. Our turtles are the underwater lawnmowers of nature. Small grouper and crawfish take shelter and hide in these grass meadows, protected from predators, but that grass has to be the correct length. Turtles also eat sponges that can easily suffocate coral by keeping the coral clean. They are the janitors of the coral reefs. As reefs get more threatened by global warming, so the role of the spong- eating turtle becomes more essential to preserve our
might just be the one for you. Call the Bahamas Humane Society at 323-5138 for more information or come in and complete an adoption form. Sheba looks forward to meeting you! • BHS Raffle 2021 tickets are now available. The drawing is December 29, and the grand prize is $10,000 worth of groceries from Super Value. Tickets are $5 each or a book of 21 for $100; available at the BHS or Fox Hill Nursery. very delicate and “at peril” coral reefs. They also love to eat jelly fish. If there is a sudden proliferation of jelly fish chances are that the population of sea turtles had been reduced. Jelly fish prey on fish larvae, if the turtles consume jelly fish, the balance of nature comes in to play, and the baby fish live to grow into adult fish, thus providing a supply of fish for the fishermen. Turtles take a long time to grow big and they do not reach reproductive maturity until about 15 years old, some need even longer. If left alone by mindless and ignorant people, they can reach the grand old age of 100. I say ignorant people because people are not aware of the importance of sea turtles in our environment, they are not aware of the ramifications if they were to be disappear from our shores. We are so fortunate to have such a large and prolific population of sea turtles in the Bahama Islands. I bless the fact that finally after many attempts we appear to be becoming the environmentally aware and friendly nation we should have always been. Some people may not understand certain regulations to encourage species to grow back, but they can be taught the reasons why, and as the years go by, they will see the logic in those regulations. Meanwhile, may we all remember any animal on the threatened or endangered list needs to be nurtured and cherished. You can photograph the same animal a thousand times, but you can only eat him once.
