Killerpix Photocontest #21 - Reptiles - Entry 1, Green turtle!

Green turtle flying over the reefs of Gili Meno, Indonesia. Taken on the 27/03/2017 with an Olympus Pen and M.Zuiko 12-50mm.

I find it fascinating and breathtaking to snorkel with turtles, somthing I shall never grow tired of! The reefs around Gili Meno in Indonesia are the only place I have been where sightings of these beautiful, endangered reptiles are just about guaranteed. I spent about ten minutes with this guy and his effortless grace and agility in the the water put me to shame.

Green turtles can live for up to eighty years and their only predators are big sharks (usually tiger sharks) and... people. Little is known about the life of the babies and juveniles as they live out in the deep blue but they always somehow return to the places where they were born to mate and breed when they reach maturity - which is connected more with their size than age (It can range from thirty to fifty years!)

Green turtles also have the unusual trait when it comes to sex determination - the temperature of their eggs dictates the sex of the each baby turtle. If the incubation temperature is 27.7C or less all hatchlings will be males, above 31C they all will be females and in between they will be a mix of both sexes.