hi all,
Life has taught us lot of things...we have been shocked, had our quota of fun, and also impressed and impacted from the everyday news...The panchantra stories to the chicken soup to the today's real life stories...
This is from our desk...shanvy and vysan
Life has taught us lot of things...we have been shocked, had our quota of fun, and also impressed and impacted from the everyday news...The panchantra stories to the chicken soup to the today's real life stories...
This is from our desk...shanvy and vysan
Encounter with the Turtles.
.
I have been to the Ras AL Hidd, a peninsula with beautiful beaches in oman about 180kms from muscat. The drive from muscat is really dry. you are surrounded only with mountains and sometimes you get to watch camels on the way. The sand dunes are also a treat.
So this ras al hidd, is the nesting grounds and turtle reserve for one of the endangered species. And a turtle returns here once every fourth year, to nest.
Every year around June, the green turtles come fighting the tides into this beach. The green turtles are thus called because of the color they have on their body which is again because of a specific algae they feed on. the beach is sandy. She finds a spot, and then starts digging holes in two to three places before settling on the one she wants to lay her eggs..(the other holes are to mislead the fox and other predators hiding for the eggs..), burrowing the sand until she can form a pit that could at least hold 100's of her eggs. The digging and burrowing is a treat to the eyes. the care with which she goes on before laying the eggs. the initial eggs are bigger in size and the ones at the end are so small, they are all so fragile and you can watch the yolk also before it starts hardening. then she starts covering up, though she is exhausted and slowly returns back to the sea, to return after another four years.
When you are sitting there overnight, waiting for the call to watch the turtles, it is a great pleasure to see these turtles with their heads bobbing up and down coming down the beach. the pleasure is more if it is a moon light.
Apart from this early morning the sunrise is such a treat to the mind. you can also watch egg hatching and the hatch lings trying to brave it back to see. But we were told very few reach the sea as they are eaten away by sea gulls and crabs.
(P.S. two of the pictures from the net. I have lost the photos of the turtle beach. only the video is available and it is a visual treat.wish i could upload the whole movie..)
I have been to the Ras AL Hidd, a peninsula with beautiful beaches in oman about 180kms from muscat. The drive from muscat is really dry. you are surrounded only with mountains and sometimes you get to watch camels on the way. The sand dunes are also a treat.
So this ras al hidd, is the nesting grounds and turtle reserve for one of the endangered species. And a turtle returns here once every fourth year, to nest.
Every year around June, the green turtles come fighting the tides into this beach. The green turtles are thus called because of the color they have on their body which is again because of a specific algae they feed on. the beach is sandy. She finds a spot, and then starts digging holes in two to three places before settling on the one she wants to lay her eggs..(the other holes are to mislead the fox and other predators hiding for the eggs..), burrowing the sand until she can form a pit that could at least hold 100's of her eggs. The digging and burrowing is a treat to the eyes. the care with which she goes on before laying the eggs. the initial eggs are bigger in size and the ones at the end are so small, they are all so fragile and you can watch the yolk also before it starts hardening. then she starts covering up, though she is exhausted and slowly returns back to the sea, to return after another four years.
When you are sitting there overnight, waiting for the call to watch the turtles, it is a great pleasure to see these turtles with their heads bobbing up and down coming down the beach. the pleasure is more if it is a moon light.
Apart from this early morning the sunrise is such a treat to the mind. you can also watch egg hatching and the hatch lings trying to brave it back to see. But we were told very few reach the sea as they are eaten away by sea gulls and crabs.
(P.S. two of the pictures from the net. I have lost the photos of the turtle beach. only the video is available and it is a visual treat.wish i could upload the whole movie..)
Total Comments 10
Comments
 |  Dear Shan, It is indeed specatacular. We missed this opportunity of watching Turtels in Andaman Island due to the onset of Tsunami. The colour of the turtle is real green..... wonders of nature ! Felt sad most of the hatchling do not reach the sea. How long does it take for the hatchling to come out of the egg? Did you see that process also? |
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| |  InterstingVery Interesting to know about the turtle.Great pics too.. |
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| |  very interesting like our orissa beach which has this phenomenon every year, and a lot of poaching is making these species extinct...wonderful poast shanthi, nice to read about these and the color is something new never seen before thanks for sharing..sunkan |
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| |  Thanx Shanthi..for sharing with us about the turtles... I too have heard a lot of Olive Ridley turtles in Orissa....The shores there is the largest nesting place for this endangered species... I read that about 50,000 turtles come and nest here every year.... And it seems, before the eggs are hatched, some are eaten by dogs or sea gulls or some washed away....only one in about 1000 are successful. As, mrs sunkan mentioned..they are threatened now ...by some industrial projects... Nice that you got to watch them...and thanx for sharing that pictures. |
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| |  Hi Shanthi, Thanks for sharing this interesting piece of information. Never knew about it. The photos are also nice... specially the 1st one with beautiful sunset at the backdrop . |
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| |  LS,Sorry you missed it!!!!!!!!We really had a very nice guide (omani) along..and with his butler english, he took great pains to explain everything. And the other thing for which i have to thank him, is he showed us all stages, where the turtle just comes in, another where it is digging, one where it is laying eggs, then closing and leaving and also the eggs that were hatching.. We really had a great time. Will pass on the CD to watch when you come down to chennai. And it take two months for the eggs to hatch. |
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| | Supriya, thank you.The experience was great...thanks for stepping in ... |
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| | Sunkan, thanks for reminding about orissa,I have heard about the orissa beach. recently even chennai beaches are combed for turtles by an NGO. looks like global warming affects them also. thanks for stepping in.yes. the green colour is spectacular, and with the background of the sand and the beautiful beaches it is more mindblowing. |
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| | saras, thanks for more info on olive ridleyIn oman, there are five varieties of these turtles that come for nesting. one of the species is found to nest only in the beaches of oman and malaysia. The five of them are green, olive ridley, leatherbacks, hawksbills and loggerheads. With the beaches being turned into resorts and projects, i fear the same could happen even here.... Out of the number that gets into the sea, even there only a percentage of them survive, they become food for others.... |
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| | Monsi, yes I also love that snap...Thanks for stepping in. I am happy that you came to know about these now. Let me see if i can upload part of the video on you tube or some other site. |
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