Threatened on a large scale
Mercury invented a tortoiseshell lyre, the Chinese decorated boxes and canes as early as the 8th century, and the Japanese opened a workshop in Nagasaki in the late 16th century, when Ferdinand Cortez introduced this material to Europe. As for Henri IV, his cradle was fashioned from an entire carapace, on display at the Musée National du Château de Pau. Then came the master cabinet-maker Charles André Boulle, the chippers, the spectacle-makers and the skilful manufacturers of carved combs for mantillas. For centuries, man has been a formidable predator of sea turtles the world over. Although a signatory to all international conventions, Japan continues to import hundreds of thousands of shells every year. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of turtles die every year, trapped in the straight nets, longlines, driftnets or trawls used to catch shrimp. Breathing through their lungs, the reptiles drown when they can't come to the surface for air. Another, even more insidious danger is global warming, which, with ever-warmer waters and sands, could encourage the birth of too many females, bearing in mind that it's the incubation temperature that determines the sex of these reptiles - 28° and they'll be males, between 28° and 29° a mixed litter, and above 29° females. And let's not forget that they are hunted in some parts of the world for their particular flavor. For example, preparations based on calipee, the cartilaginous fat covering the breastbone, are used to make a soup..
Protected in Oman
Protected to the highest international standards and observed with sagacity and respect, Sultanian Ninja turtles have at least the certainty of not ending up in the bottom of a saucepan. At sea, on the beach, at night and sometimes even during the day, the natural ballet from the depths of the ages is performed every year in Oman by over 20,000 turtles.
With its research center and hotel, Ras al-Jinz is the most famous and easiest place to lay eggs. Non-residents registered for the excursion should arrive at 4.30 or 8.30 pm, to visit the small museum exhibiting the different species and the archaeological explorations undertaken in the area since 1982. Turtles can also be seen diving at "Turtle City" (mostly hawksbills), a reef of three coral gardens in the Daymaniyat Islands Marine Park off Barka (north-eastern coast); and also on Masirah Island, known as a world hot spot for loggerheads, as well as in the Dhofar region in the south of the sultanate. The spectacle of egg-laying and/or hatching can also be seen in Barr Al Jissah, one of Muscat's outlying districts, on the beach of the Shangri-La Hotel. Administered by the resort, this green and hawksbill egg-laying site is accessible to residents.
Reptiles are generally present all year round, but the best time to see them is from June to September (with peaks in July and August), when they gather on the beaches in their hundreds.
The laying process and birth
The green turtle, the easiest to observe in Oman, reaches sexual maturity at the age of 49 and lays its eggs mainly at night. She uses her front and back legs to dig her nest: a trough slightly wider than her body. Once the eggs have been laid, an average of around a hundred, she fills in the nest. Then, using her flippers, she covers her tracks with sand to protect the nest from predators. After around 50 days, 5 cm long babies hatch and emerge in a group effort that takes them 3 to 5 days to complete. At nightfall, they break the shell with their beak to end their two-month stay under the sand. Using the elevator principle, they make the sand fall from the nest walls to the bottom, gradually bringing it to the surface. First breath of fresh air. In small groups, still clumsy, they head straight for the saving sea - a cracking scene frequently witnessed on the Ras al Jinz beach. The babies won't see their mothers again, and will swim non-stop towards deep water for 24 or 48 hours, drawing their nourishment from the reserves in their yolk sac. Out of a thousand, the only one to survive will have escaped the beach crabs, swooping birds and voracious fish.
The Turtle Code
So as not to interfere with the egg-laying process, the observation of this ancestral cycle is subject to a strict code, whether on wild, deserted beaches or in the Raz Al-Jinz private reserve, where the reptiles are subject to a significant human presence. To avoid premature return of the turtles to the sea, we strongly advise you to follow a few simple rules: do not use any light source other than infrared lamps, as this scares adults and disorients hatchlings (no torches or flashlights); do not form a circle around the animal, as this is a very stressful situation, preferring to stand behind and at a distance; remember to move back immediately when the turtle has finished laying, so as not to oppress it by blocking its access to the sea; don't talk, don't get agitated, sit down and stay calm; don't touch the reptiles or climb on them; do not handle eggs, dig sand or bury foreign objects in nests, as this will introduce bacteria and damage eggs; do not hold baby turtles or help them to reach the sea; don't erase or modify the tracks left on the sand by turtles, as researchers use them to identify the type of animal, as well as to locate and mark its nest; don't throw your rubbish away in the wild, as turtles confuse plastic with food, and poison or suffocate themselves by swallowing it.
Observable species in Oman
The big green one
With its short, rounded snout, non-retractable head and flipper-like legs, the largest of the hard-shelled sea turtles can measure up to 1.4 meters, weigh over 200 kg, swim at 35 km/h and live to be 150 years old. Omnivorous before adulthood, it then becomes strictly herbivorous - which greens its fat - and feeds mainly on algae. The green turtle, with its dark blue back, regularly comes to the surface to breathe in the open air. They reach reproductive age at around 18, and can be very aggressive towards males who show too much enterprise, even biting them on the neck. Thanks to its spermatheca, the green turtle can fertilize its eggs for an entire season following a single intercourse.
The big-headed loggerhead
With its stocky neck and "big head" as Caledonians call it, the loggerhead lives in all the world's seas, temperate and tropical, between 40° south and 60° north parallel. The average size is 92 cm, with an average weight of 100 kg. Its carapace is described as heart-shaped, and its back is orange-brown with a slight curve. It has a large, wide head with a horny beak (up to 25 cm) entirely covered with fine scales surrounded by pale yellow, at the end of a partially retractable neck. The front legs act as propellers, while the rear legs act as rudders and stabilizers, enabling it to swim on the high seas. Like the hawksbill turtle, its legs are each armed with two large claws. A gourmet carnivore, it eats jellyfish, fish and crustaceans. Unlike other turtles, they don't necessarily lay their eggs exactly on the beach where they were born, as the location can vary up to 300 km. You have to wait until adulthood to distinguish the male from the female, the latter having a shorter tail and claws. Thanks to its lacrimal glands located behind the eye, the loggerhead eliminates excess salt by absorbing seawater. If you're lucky enough to observe it on the sand, you'll think it's sad - it's just crying for sodium chloride.
The beautiful hawksbill
The only turtle with a saw-toothed carapace on the terminal part, it has a pointed beak and measures around 100 cm for 70 kg. Its dark brown and yellowish scales are particularly beautiful, overlapping like the tiles on a roof. Omnivorous in its youth, the hawksbill specializes in eating sponges and mollusks as it matures. It is faithful to its geographic area of birth, which then becomes its spawning ground. Mating takes place in open water, with the male straddling the female and clinging to her as best he can. A female turtle often returns to lay eggs, almost always in the same place and always at night, around 15 days after the first laying session. As with migratory birds, long-distance navigation is based on the perception of magnetic fields. In order to accurately determine their nesting areas, the "sense of smell" comes into play: as seawater does not taste the same everywhere, turtles are undoubtedly able to perceive with precision, thanks to a memory of tastes, which is their area of origin. To its misfortune, the hawksbill in love with coral reefs has the most beautiful scales, and its destiny has often ended in a jewelry box or a cigarette smoker. It is "critically endangered" according to the IUCN.
The little Kemp and Olivâtre
Identified by Floridian Kemp, the "bastard", as it's also known, is light and short, 40 kg for 60 cm, with a gray-green back less humped than the Olivâtre, and a horny beak often finally denticulated. As an adult, it can break the shells of crustaceans to devour them, not excluding fish and shellfish. As with other turtles, the sex of future hatchlings depends on temperature at a certain level of maturation: at less than 29.5°, they will be males, at more, females. The Kemp's ridley is distinguished from other species by its preference for daytime egg-laying.
The olive ridley is the smallest of the sea turtles, averaging 36 kg for 70 cm. Its yellowish skin and grayish-beige carapace don't help it to pass the Miss Ninja selections. Sexually mature from the age of 7, it is the only species that likes to lay eggs on its own.
