cyprus turtles

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T wo species of turtles nest in Cyprus, the Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) and the Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta). Both species are threatened by extinction in the Mediterranean. In this sea the Green Turtle nowadays nests almost exclusively in Cyprus and Turkey. Loggerheads nest also in Greece and in small numbers in several other countries in the eastern Mediterranean. It is estimated that the current nesting population in the Mediter- ranean is about 500-600 female Green turtles and 5,000-6,000 Log- gerhead turtles. In the past they were found in much larger numbers. Between 1900 and 1960 about 100.000 of turtles, mainly Green turtles, were exported to Europe from the east Mediterranean for turtle soup. In Cyprus Green turtles now nest on the surf-swept west coast beaches of Lara/Toxeftra and on some beaches on the north coast and the Karpas. Loggerheads also nest in the Lara/Toxeftra area but their main nesting beaches are in the Polis/Limni area in Chrysochou Bay. About Turtles: Turtles are reptiles. They evolved on land and went back to the sea. That is why they breathe air and come up on land to lay their eggs. They live for more than 60 years. Loggerhead turtles feed on jellyfish and on a variety of bottom living animals. Green turtles are herbivorous and feed on sea-grasses. Turtles have no ears but are sensitive to certain sound frequencies. They have good eyesight. Reproduction: Green turtles mature when they are 25-30 years old and Loggerheads when they are about 15-20 years old. They lay their eggs every 2-5 years. Mating takes place at sea. Loggerheads start nesting at the end of May and usually finish by mid August. Green turtles start and finish about two weeks later. In the season a turtle may lay 3-5 clutches of round, leathery eggs. Loggerheads lay about 80 eggs in each clutch and Greens about 120. The Loggerheads lay their eggs in chambers about 30-50 cm deep and the Green turtles about 50-80 cm deep. Nesting takes place at night. The eggs incubate with the heat of the sun and hatch about 7 weeks later. Sex determination depends on temperature. High temperatures produce females and low temperatures produce males. At about 29-30 0 C about half of the hatchlings produced are male and the other half female. So eggs laid early in the season tend to produce more males and late nests more females. Turtles imprint on their natal beaches, which means that when they mature they will return to nest on the beaches they themselves hatched on. Turtles and lights: Turtle hatchlings are attracted to light. Their instinct tells them that the lightest part on the horizon is the way to the sea. If there are artificial lights near the beach the hatchlings will be disorientated and will go towards these lights instead of going to the sea. If they do not reach the sea quickly they will fall prey to foxes or if they stay on land during the day they will die of heat. Nesting females are also very wary of lights and movement on the beaches when they come up to lay their eggs. If disturbed they will go back to the sea. If disturbed on consecutive nights they will drop their eggs in the sea. This is why the public are not allowed on the beaches at night Predation and other dangers: In Cyprus the main predator is the fox. On some beaches, more than 80% of the eggs or hatchlings are eaten by foxes if they are not protected. Some nests may also be covered by the sea and perish as they are laid too near the water. Driving on the beaches can destroy nests while deep tyre marks prevent hatchlings from reaching the sea. Conservation: The Cyprus Turtle Conservation Project was set up by the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research in 1978, following surveys in 1976 and 1977. It is the first such project in the Mediterranean. The project Green Turtle Green Turtle laying Toxeftra beach showing nesting activity Green hutchling (white belly) and loggerhead (all black) Measuring a Green Turtle Tagging a Green Turtle Training course at Lara

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Two species of turtles nest in Cyprus, the

Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) and the

Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta). Both

species are threatened by extinction in the

Mediterranean. In this sea the Green Turtle

nowadays nests almost exclusively in Cyprus

and Turkey. Loggerheads nest also in Greece

and in small numbers in several other

countries in the eastern Mediterranean. It

is estimated that the current

nesting population in the Mediter-

ranean is about 500-600 female

Green turtles and 5,000-6,000 Log-

gerhead turtles. In the past they

were found in much larger numbers.

Between 1900 and 1960 about

100.000 of turtles, mainly Green

turtles, were exported to Europe

from the east Mediterranean for

turtle soup.

In Cyprus Green turtles now nest on the surf-swept west coast beaches of

Lara/Toxeftra and on some beaches on the north coast and the Karpas.

Loggerheads also nest in the Lara/Toxeftra area but their main nesting

beaches are in the Polis/Limni area in Chrysochou Bay.

About Turtles: Turtles are reptiles. They evolved on land and went back

to the sea. That is why they breathe air and come up on land to lay their eggs.

They live for more than 60 years.

Loggerhead turtles feed on jellyfish

and on a variety of bottom living

animals. Green turtles are herbivorous

and feed on sea-grasses. Turtles have

no ears but are sensitive to certain

sound frequencies. They have good

eyesight.

Reproduction: Green turtles

mature when they are 25-30 years old

and Loggerheads when they are about

15-20 years old. They lay their eggs every 2-5 years. Mating takes place at

sea. Loggerheads start nesting at the end of May and usually finish by mid

August. Green turtles start and finish about two weeks later. In the season

a turtle may lay 3-5 clutches of round, leathery eggs. Loggerheads lay about

80 eggs in each clutch and Greens about 120. The Loggerheads lay their eggs

in chambers about 30-50 cm deep and the Green turtles about 50-80 cm deep.

Nesting takes place at night. The eggs incubate with the heat of the sun and

hatch about 7 weeks later. Sex determination depends on temperature. High

temperatures produce females and low temperatures produce males. At about

29-300C about half of the hatchlings produced are male and the other half

female. So eggs laid early in the season tend to produce more males and late

nests more females. Turtles imprint on their natal beaches, which means that

when they mature they will return to nest on the beaches they themselves

hatched on.

Turtles and lights: Turtle

hatchlings are attracted to light.

Their instinct tells them that the

lightest part on the horizon is the

way to the sea. If there are

artificial lights near the beach the

hatchlings will be disorientated

and will go towards these lights

instead of going to the sea. If they

do not reach the sea quickly they

will fall prey to foxes or if they

stay on land during the day they will die of heat. Nesting females are also

very wary of lights and movement on the beaches when they come up to lay

their eggs. If disturbed they will go back to the sea. If disturbed on

consecutive nights they will drop their eggs in the sea. This is why the public

are not allowed on the beaches at night

Predation and other dangers: In Cyprus the main predator is the

fox. On some beaches, more than 80% of the eggs or hatchlings are eaten by

foxes if they are not protected. Some nests may also be covered by the sea

and perish as they are laid too near the water. Driving on the beaches can

destroy nests while deep tyre marks prevent hatchlings from reaching the

sea.

Conservation: The Cyprus Turtle Conservation Project was set up by theDepartment of Fisheries and Marine Research in 1978, following surveys in1976 and 1977. It is the first such project in the Mediterranean. The project

Green Turtle

Green Turtle laying

Toxeftra beach showing nesting activity

Green hutchling (white belly) and loggerhead (all black)

Measuring a Green Turtle

Tagging a Green Turtle

Training course at Lara

IInn tthhee LLaarraa//TTooxxeeffttrraa PPrrootteecctteedd AArreeaa

iitt iiss pprroohhiibbiitteedd ttoo::

➦➦ SSttaayy oonn tthhee bbeeaacchheess oorr tthhee ccooaassttaall

aarreeaa aatt nniigghhtt

➦➦ DDrriivvee aannyy vveehhiiccllee oonn aa bbeeaacchh oorr

ttoolleerraattee ssuucchh aaccttiioonn

➦➦ PPllaaccee aann uummbbrreellllaa,, ccaarraavvaann,, tteenntt

eettcc..,, iinn tthhee PPrrootteecctteedd AArreeaa

➦➦ FFiisshh,, eexxcceepptt wwiitthh aa rroodd aanndd lliinnee

➦➦ UUssee oorr aanncchhoorr aa bbooaatt oorr ttoolleerraattee

ssuucchh aaccttiioonn

IItt iiss aallssoo pprroohhiibbiitteedd ttoo::

➦➦ LLeeaavvee yyoouurr rruubbbbiisshh oonn tthhee bbeeaacchheess

oorr aannyywwhheerree eellssee iinn tthhee aarreeaa

➦➦ LLiigghhtt ffiirreess oonn tthhee bbeeaacchheess oorr

aannyywwhheerree eellssee iinn tthhee aarreeaa

➦➦ CCoolllleecctt aannyy gghhoosstt ccrraabbss ffrroomm tthheessee

bbeeaacchheess.. TThheeyy aarree pprrootteecctteedd

eevveerryywwhheerree iinn CCyypprruuss..

PPlleeaassee::

● SSttiicckk ttoo tthhee eexxiissttiinngg ppaatthhss aanndd ddoo nnoott ddiissttuurrbbtthhee ssaanndd--dduunnee vveeggeettaattiioonn

● TTaakkee yyoouurr rruubbbbiisshh wwiitthh yyoouu

Note: The information contained in this leaflet may be

reproduced after the authors’ (Andreas Demetropoulos and

Myroula Hadjichristophorou) permission. For further

information please telephone the above authors:

Tel. 22350316 or 22303901 or

E-mail [email protected] or [email protected]

© All photos Andreas Demetropoulos

aims at:

● Protecting and managing theimportant nesting beaches

● Protecting eggs and hatch-lings from predation - andfrom human activities

● Protecting adult turtles

● Monitoring the turtle popu-lation and nesting activity inCyprus

● Raising public awareness inturtle conservation

In the Lara-Toxeftra Reserve and on other beaches, such as the Polis/Limnibeaches, that are not busy tourist beaches, eggs are protected where theyare laid by placing aluminium cages over the nests. These allow hatchlings toescape to the sea as soon as they emerge from the sand, and stop foxes fromgetting at the nests. Nests are moved to the hatchery at Lara from sometourist beaches only (mainly Coral Bay). The hatchery is a patch of fencedoff beach where the eggs are re-buried. Nests too near the sea are relocatedhigher up on the same beach. Over 8,000 Green and Loggerhead hatchlings arereleased each year from the Lara/Toxeftra Reserve and at least another12,000 from protected Loggerhead nests on the beaches in thePolis/Limni/Yialia area. This is a much larger number than what would normallyreach the sea without protection. Nesting females are tagged and theirnumbers and nesting activity are monitored.

Training courses in Turtle Conservation Techniques have been heldevery year since 1989 for Mediterranean scientists and Protected Areamanagers. Trainees are sponsored by UNEP(MAP). The courses are carried outby the Cyprus Wildlife Society (CWS) in cooperation with the Department ofFisheries and Marine Research. CWS also helps with the project.

The Law: Turtles and their eggs have been protected under the FisheriesLegislation since 1971. Nesting habitat protection was provided in 1989

with management regulationspassed under the same legislationand covering the Lara/Toxeftraarea. This includes the main GreenTurtle nesting beaches. In 2003the Polis/Limni beaches weredeclared a Coastal Zone forEcological Protection under theTown and Country Planning Law.Turtles are also protected byseveral International Conventionswhich Cyprus has ratified.

P.I.O. 133/2005-2.000 Published by the Press and Information Office, Republic of Cyprus

Printed: J.G.Cassoulides & Son Ltd

Green hatchlings emerging from the sand