Idea #132 – Diving with Thai Andaman turtles in Thailand
The imbricated turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata, is recognizable by its thick scales recovering the shell, put as the tiles of a roof, by its long, narrow and hooked beak and by both claws arranged in some centimeters one of the other one on the outside at the middle-fins. The turtle measures from 60 cms to 1 meter and weighs more than 50 kg on average. The imbricated turtles gather regularly, in particular in Thai waters, and lay on beaches every two or three years, by putting down approximately hundred eggs. It would seem that females come to lay in the place where they were born. Luckily, we were able to observe numerous babies, to get back on beaches by the coast guards of islands Similan, so avoiding them being immediately outlined by predators and leaving them a chance of survival. And luckily, on the way back, a grown-up turtle waited for us, under the boat!
Some Pictures
Where is it ?
Similan Islands, Koh Surin, Thailand
Larger Map
