Turtles
Loggerhead Turtle
Caretta caretta · Marine reptile — family Cheloniidae
The loggerhead is the heavyweight journeyman of the turtle world — thick-necked, barrel-bodied, its outsized amber head built around jaws that crack conch like walnuts. Divers meet it in less glamorous places than its reef cousins: trudging across shell hash off Florida, wedged on a North Carolina wreck, cruising sandy gutters at Sodwana ahead of summer nesting. What it lacks in delicacy it repays in presence; a big female pushing past resembles slow-moving furniture and utterly ignores you. Its hatchlings ride ocean gyres for years — the 'lost years' — before returning to coastal shallows, one of the great migration stories in the sea.
Где и когда увидеть
«Постоянные» — значит, большинство погружений в этом месте позволяет встретить их; «сезонные» — значит, они стабильно присутствуют в указанные месяцы; всё остальное — приятный бонус, а не повод строить планы.
| Направление | Достоверность | Месяцы | Примечания |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida KeysUnited States | Resident — seen on most dives | Круглый год | |
| Sodwana BaySouth Africa | Seasonal — reliable in season | Nov–Feb | |
| Malta & GozoMalta | Occasional | Круглый год | |
| North Carolina Outer BanksUnited States | Occasional | May–Sep |
Лучший месяц — коротко
| Месяц | Надёжные направления |
|---|---|
| January | Florida Keys · Sodwana Bay · Malta & Gozo |
| February | Florida Keys · Sodwana Bay · Malta & Gozo |
| March | Florida Keys · Malta & Gozo |
| April | Florida Keys · Malta & Gozo |
| May | Florida Keys · Malta & Gozo · North Carolina Outer Banks |
| June | Florida Keys · Malta & Gozo · North Carolina Outer Banks |
| July | Florida Keys · Malta & Gozo · North Carolina Outer Banks |
| August | Florida Keys · Malta & Gozo · North Carolina Outer Banks |
| September | Florida Keys · Malta & Gozo · North Carolina Outer Banks |
| October | Florida Keys · Malta & Gozo |
| November | Florida Keys · Sodwana Bay · Malta & Gozo |
| December | Florida Keys · Sodwana Bay · Malta & Gozo |
Как их понять
Среда обитания: Hard bottoms, wrecks, ledges, and open shelf waters; less reef-bound than greens or hawksbills
Ареал: Temperate and subtropical oceans worldwide — the US Atlantic coast, Mediterranean, southern Africa, Oman, Japan, and eastern Australia hold major nesting populations
Поведение: A powerful, big-headed cruiser often met plodding across open sand or hauled up on a wreck deck like a boulder with flippers. Less site-faithful underwater than reef turtles, it covers ocean basins between feeding and nesting grounds; barnacle-crusted shells testify to the mileage.
Рацион питания: Hard-shelled prey — conch, whelks, crabs, and urchins — crushed with massive jaw muscles housed in the oversized head
Размер: как правило, около 0.9 m; задокументировано до 1.1 m (carapace length; a heavily built turtle commonly well over 100 kg).
Как вести себя рядом с ним
Standard turtle rules: no touching or riding, clear path to the surface, and extra distance during nesting season near mating pairs, which are focused and easily stressed.
Охрана природы
Vulnerable; longline and trawl bycatch remains the central threat, answered in part by hook and excluder-device rules, while beach protection has stabilized several nesting populations.
Известные места на карте
Смотреть
Из официальных источников
Best Places to Dive with Whale Sharks
Outrageously Tiny Fish
Sink or Swim? with Monét X Change | Monterey Bay Aquarium
Видео — это встроенные ссылки на каналы их авторов: мы ничего не размещаем у себя и указываем все источники.