Chelonia Mydas

Chelonia mydas: bilaterally symmetrical exotherm of the family cheloniidae, genus chelonia. Average size: 3-4 feet; average weight: 400lbs. Largely herbivorous but exhibiting omnivorous tendencies at various stages of the life cycle…

About two and a half hours from our village is the town of Ra'as Sharmah, home to a sea turtle colony at which we’ve spent the last two weekends, helping baby turtles make it to the ocean (past hundreds of crabs), and watching the adults dig their nests. Though slow and awkward on land, their flippers are still very strong and Sean got a mouthful of sand when he got too close! The mothers come up on land shortly after sundown to settle on a suitable digging spot. Sometimes they dig for a while, hit a batch of eggs and have to move on. They lay up to 200 eggs, and they do this every 2-3 years. There are thousands of turtles using this particular beach (though only a few each night, of course).














Around the same time that the new mothers come up from the sea, the babies that were laid a couple months before emerge from the sand and begin their long journey to the water. Some of the nests are very far up on shore and it is a miracle that even a few of the babies make it past the obstacles! Besides all the crabs there are also birds and wild dogs to contend with.

Here are various shots of the young ones. The overjoyed woman in the upper right is our friend and colleague Priska Corum.








There is a guard house at the entrance of the beach because the turtles are a protected species, but the guards don’t mind if you only eat one. I wonder how you say “endangered” in Arabic…











And this… well, sometimes it’s frightening what Sean comes up with when you leave him alone for any length of time. He finds the weirdest things.


Moving on… when we did sleep (between turtle-related activities) we did so very comfortably in one of the unoccupied nests; the only hitch was an early morning brawl between five of the wild dogs, about fifteen feet from our heads. I guess they were deciding who gets to eat us. Just kidding (don’t worry mom and dad). I have to say though, I have seen few things as surreal as watching Sean chasing that pack down over the sand, turban flying, club swinging, threats ringing through the pre-dawn desert air. Were we really playing in the snow just two months ago??


Then came sunrise and the end of our adventures. I never would have thought that I’d get the chance to watch mommy turtles digging nests, to save some baby turtles, and snooze in a comfy hammock made of sand. What a beautiful way to start the day. Thanks be to Him for His wonderful creation!