And if you want to compare the Nile turtles that live in the Dalyan delta with Caretta-Caretta, then you)

One of the attractions of Dalyan is the Caretta-Caretta sea turtles, which have chosen Iztuzu beach to lay eggs.

Some information about Caretta-Caretta, gleaned from posters of the rescue and rehabilitation center sea ​​turtles:
The Caretta Caretta is a sea turtle that lives in the Mediterranean Sea. The turtle lives in the sea and comes to land only to lay eggs. It can swim underwater at a depth of up to 200 meters. Can remain under water continuously for 15-25 minutes.
Turtles are carnivorous. They have no teeth, but the jaw is powerful and the palate is very sharp. They feed on fish, crabs, crayfish and all other small creatures.
At 25-30 years of age they reach sexual maturity. Out of 100 turtles, only 3-5 lucky ones survive to puberty. They have too many enemies, one of which is human. Turtles die getting entangled in fishing nets or plastic bags thrown into the sea...
The female lays eggs every 2-3 years from May to July. Lays eggs in holes/nests dug in the sand at a depth of 50-60 cm. As a rule, there is more than one nest; the female makes from 3 to 5 nests. Laying in different nests takes place at intervals of about 15 days. There are an average of 70 eggs in one nest. After 45-65 days, the young begin to hatch. At high temperature(+32) females hatch, at low (+26) - males. At the time established by nature, the cubs, having hatched, climb out of the nest and, obeying intuition, head to the sea.
In Turkey, one of the main places for laying Caretta-Caretta eggs is the beaches of Iztuzu, Patara, and Belek. These places have the status of protected areas. Interestingly, sea turtles, no matter where they are, always return to the beach where they hatched. And it is on this beach that eggs are laid. To continue their offspring, they, obeying instinct, travel thousands of kilometers to return to the beach where they themselves were once born...

On Iztuzu beach, there are posters at almost every step showing the nesting sites and urging tourists not to harm the turtles, which are on the list of endangered animals.

The sign indicates that the egg-laying site is located underneath it. In the area from the sun loungers to the white line (on the right in the photo), tourists are asked not to set up beds, not to put up umbrellas and not to dig holes. This territory belongs to turtles...

As far as I understand, it is practically impossible to see Caretta-Caretta outside the tour (Those who want to see turtles will have to go on a special tour. We didn’t go, but as part of another tour we came across a very responsive captain, who responded to our complaints about the fact that we were coming to Dalyan, but never managed to see Caretta-Caretta, changed the route and took us to the place of “hunting” for turtles.
Local residents, feeding the turtles, developed conditioned reflexes and now they are successfully using it to entertain tourists. Turtles are lured with blue crabs tied to a rope and thus shown to tourists. Crabs are caught here in the delta.
Here it is, the blue crab

This is for us) Crab baked in foil. Not bad. But Kamchatka crabs are a long way off...

And here comes the crab lover (she’s the one in the first photo)

The turtle moved quite briskly, apparently young and full of strength. Capturing it turned out to be very problematic.


And here it turned out so scary. Causes an association with bird of prey. The turtle's head is large, hence one of its other names - loggerhead sea turtle.

We also met Caretta-Caretta at the center for the rescue and rehabilitation of sea turtles. But that is another story...

A species of sea turtle regularly observed: Caretta-Caretta, Caretta-Caretta turtles are on the list of endangered animals. The point is that they for a long time were considered a delicacy not only in Far East, but also in some European countries(for example, France and Italy).
These marine reptiles have lived on Earth for 95 million years. Adult turtles reach sizes of 115-150 cm, while their weight is about 70-90 kg.....
The Caretta Caretta lays eggs only once every two to three years. Turtles go out onto the sand and, using their hind legs, dig several holes, then, choosing, in their opinion, the most suitable one, they lay eggs there. One turtle can dig up to 80-100 holes, but it will lay all its eggs in only one of them. The process of laying eggs lasts for hours and experts say that the female turtle positive emotions at this moment he does not experience it at all.
This tedious procedure for turtles lasts about 60 days (from May to July). And from July to September small turtles begin to appear. They say that males hatch at a temperature of 28.5 °C, but females require more heat - 32 °C.
Cubs hatched on the appointed day
Moreover, they say that they still need to sit in the sand for 26 hours, which is probably why the supervisors feel the place of masonry so carefully - the palm goes vertically into the sand in several places in turn.

If there is “something suspicious”, they use their palms to scoop it horizontally to the sides - in layers.

Probably for fear of hurting the kids who decided to get out on their own :)

If they don’t find anything, they bury everything again, make the appropriate notes in their notebook and place a wire frame over the masonry - until next time.

Yes, so the kids get out of the hole and, guided by the moon, head towards the sea, carried away by instinct. During the period when small turtles are hatching from eggs, it is forbidden to light a fire or light, because it can deceive the hatchlings and they will go astray. the right way. They should have time to get to the water before dawn and the heat sets in. Those who are late are destroyed by the hot rays of the sun or end up as food for birds. One of their most dangerous enemies on earth is the fox. Of course, even once at sea, the cubs cannot be considered completely safe. Having not reached a certain size, they serve as tasty food for fish.
Instinct leads adults back to the place where they were born. Having hatched in one place, they return there in order to give life to a new generation.
There are 17 beaches in Turkey where sea turtles lay their eggs, among them the most important are, for example, Iztuzu, Patara, the Gösu River delta, Belek - all of them have the status of protected areas.

I actually disagree about Belek, but it’s not for me to judge.
Well, we came here knowing that Caretta breeds here and that we need to run in the morning (we’ve read too much, but what about sh!) to the beach and peer at the people walking past.

Oga. Only when we went out to the beach, we completely forgot about it - after all, it’s a sea! It's half past seven in the morning and very warm. And the sea is gentle and the air is warm and my temperature has been 38.2 since yesterday.

And here, literally 25 meters from us, it is obvious. And we are in water up to our chests.
In general, they caught us by surprise, but we grabbed our cameras and ran :)
And there, special guys write down in a special notebook how many pieces from which hole number when they got out.

An assortment of people lined up in two ranks and cheered with the very welcoming cries of the kids, of which there were four.

The guys shout at the onlookers so that they don’t inadvertently disturb them :) They chased me away when I was standing half a meter to the side of the highway - you never know, maybe the kid wants to turn?

In general there were four supervisors. What about the bullshit? Responsible work!
One takes notes.

One - with an important plaque on his chest, like, the main one.

He makes all the decisions about all the movements of the supervisors in the turtle case.
One - raises and lowers and, if necessary, carries into a common pile no longer needed wire frames, which are installed above the masonry while the baby is still in the sand.

And he also carries a bucket.
One - I don’t know why, probably for company.
The bucket is a separate issue: we watched four kids moving towards the water. One of them was very weak. At all:(
They put it in this very bucket. They probably took it to the turtle cemetery :(

While the turtles are crawling towards the water (and it’s funny, the closer they are to the water, the faster they run, they even jump :) it feels like they feel it, even though they were born just a few minutes ago :)), the supervisors are very busy important matter: they carefully dig out the masonry - their former house, everyone checks to see if there is anything left there, they count the peels, put them back and bury the masonry.

And they don’t go anywhere until the turtles swim away :)

And even if a turtle, which itself is still the size of 3/4 of a cigarette pack, turns over, falling off a pebble on the beach, it doesn’t need help; a specially trained guy helps it in some strange, but probably more in an effective way: he doesn’t turn her over, he puts his finger on her, helping her tighten her little snares and turn herself over :)

As soon as the baby finally and confidently floats away, they collect their things and go to the next clutch.
The whole crowd is behind them.

Zakynthos (greek island in the Ionian Sea) is famous not only for the bay Navagio. It is often called "turtle island" - the most big turtles cartetta-cartetta was chosen Zakynthos. This island has become a kind of maternity hospital and nursery for turtles.

Zakynthos- the largest nesting site for loggerhead turtles in the Mediterranean Sea.

A little about carriage-caretta turtles

The Caretta turtle is the most well-studied sea turtle; adults weigh from 77 to 160 kg and reach a length of 80 to 115 cm.

Loggerhead (loggerhead sea turtle)

Loggerhead turtles have become an endangered species and main reason This trend is mass tourism in their nesting areas.
Water pollution and fishing activities also contributed.

Female coach turtles reach sexual maturity at about 30 years of age and return to the place where they were born to mate and lay eggs. 80% of turtles return to Zakynthos. Turtles nest once every 2-3 years.
The turtles hatch after about two months, at night, and immediately go to the sea.

Happy Birthday Baby!

Newborn turtles are approximately 4.5 cm long and weigh 20 grams. Only those that reach the open sea survive.

Good luck!

Only one in 1,000 cubs survives to reach sexual maturity.

The beginning of a long life

National Marine Park in Zakynthos

To preserve the turtle population in Zakynthos was founded in 1999 National Marine Park. Its main task is to preserve the ecosystem and create conditions for increasing the population of Caretta Caretta turtles.
The National Park includes 6 beaches of Laganos Bay, small islands Marathonissi And Peluso.
About 3,000 turtle nests appear here every year, which are monitored by park staff and volunteers.

Turtle nests on the beaches of Laganos

Not only turtles, but Mediterranean seals monachus-monachus are under close attention.

Where can you see turtles?

The easiest and most harmless (for nature) way is to visit the island in May - June. At this time, turtles swim to mate and swim very close to the shore. Most of them flock to the beaches of the bay Laganos. A turtle swimming nearby is not uncommon during this period.

In May - June, turtles swim very close to the shore

Throughout beach season from anywhere on the island you will be offered boat trips on glass-bottomed boats, yachts, and speedboats, during which you will be able to see turtles.

Another popular way is an excursion to the island Marathonissi: there are not only two excellent beaches (sandy and pebble), but also numerous turtle nests (therefore, there are many adult turtles in coastal waters). The island is part of National Marine Park.

Marathonissi

Rules for tourists on the beaches of Zakynthos

On those beaches Zakynthos, which are located on the territory of the National Marine Park, there are a number of rules that all tourists must follow (all of them are aimed at preserving the turtle population):

• night stay on the beach is prohibited - turtles usually hatch at night;
• At night, you cannot use any sources of artificial lighting on the beach or near it (lamps, car headlights, etc.) - turtles use moonlight on the water as a guide, extraneous light sources lead them astray;
• It is strictly forbidden to leave trash on the beach - plastic bag can kill not only baby turtles, but also adults if they fall into the sea;
• You cannot ride bicycles, scooters, etc. on the beaches;
• in places designated as egg laying, sunbeds, umbrellas, and awnings cannot be installed;
• It is prohibited to use motor boats and speedboats in the Gulf of Laganos;
• it is advisable to be located no further than 5 meters from the water's edge - further away there may be masonry;
• sand castles and other structures can only be made near the surf and do not forget to destroy them before leaving - they can become an insurmountable obstacle for the turtles;
• on the beaches you can’t make noise, play with a ball or rackets, relaxation here is passive (it’s better to go to the beaches of Mykonos for fun).

There are staff present on the beaches National Marine Park and volunteers. They will always tell you what you can and cannot do, listen to them!

It is strictly prohibited to dig up a clutch of eggs; this is punishable by law.

Zakynthos very popular among tourists all over the world. Hundreds of thousands of tourists vacation here every year and this leads to a catastrophic deterioration in the situation with turtles. It is within the power of each of us to ensure that out of a thousand, not just one or two turtles survive, but more.

We visited this little Turkish Venice this year.

"Dalyan" means fishing in Turkish.

There are also a lot of legends about the river. One of them is about twins, a boy and a girl. About how the girl Biblios fell in love with her sibling Kaunos. When she revealed her feelings, her brother had to leave the city. A girl, out of unrequited love, decides to die, throw herself off the biggest cliff. But the goddesses of spring waters do not allow the girl to die. They turn the girl into the Dalyan spring.

The place is actually very beautiful.

Of course the weather that day was rainy. This one was a bit unlucky. The excursion costs 65 euros. We bought it at the hotel from tour operators. But outside the hotel it is 2 times less. It took 3.5 hours to get to this picturesque place. The price of the tour included meals.

1. Blue crab fishing

This is where we caught blue crab. For bait.

We caught these beauties, we could take pictures with them, and then release them into the wild. Back to sea. After fishing, we were offered a crab lunch for an additional fee. When we bought the tour, we were told that a crab lunch was included in the price. But it turned out differently. For one serving 7 cu. + drinks and beer were also paid.

They taste sweet, tender, juicy, well, very tasty. (You could also make a wish).

After such lunch we went to look at the Caretta-Caretta turtles. And suddenly we hear from the guide... That you may not see turtles.

On the way to the turtles we admired:

2. Lycian tombs

Another name is "Royal Tombs". It’s beautiful, of course the tombs are empty. But an architectural monument.

And so we arrived at the habitat of turtles... And in reality we did not see any of them. Maybe the weather was bad.

3. Visiting turtles

We didn’t see any turtles, but we visited one of the most the most beautiful beaches iztuzu. Where is the Aegean Sea.

Sunbeds were also paid, and for some reason no one told us about this either. But the weather wasn't too good. Therefore, it was not possible to swim in the sea.

A sea turtle named... "caretta-caretta"

The huge loggerhead sea turtle, also known as the Caretta Caretta, is listed as an endangered species and is therefore carefully protected. national laws Greece. ZagraNitsa will tell you where you can look at a rare animal, get to know it and even adopt it.

Turtles with head out

The weight of a caretta caretta can reach 160 kg (for comparison: pet turtles weigh no more than 100–300 g). She is “big-headed” because she does not hide her head under her shell, as her close relatives do. Instead of paws, sea turtles have flippers, and now they are hiding in a “house”, like an airplane landing gear. There are about 800 loggerheads left in the world, so the giant turtles are listed in the Red Book.

Photo: Shutterstock

Turtle Island

You can meet the carriage on the island of Zakynthos (or, as the Hellenes call it, Zakynthos). This place, with an area of ​​407 km², is the southernmost and warmest of the Greek islands.

By car from Athens it takes more than five hours (324 km) to get here. Buses run from the capital of Greece on weekdays. By plane, of course, it’s faster, so if you don’t mind 50 euros (ticket price in low season), go to Athens International Airport. An hour into the flight - and you are in Zakynthos.

Photo: Shutterstock

However, tourists are not embarrassed by either the long journey or the prices - the spectacle is worth it! It's fabulous on the island beautiful nature: mountains covered with pine trees, olive and orchards and, of course, the pure, pure azure sea. In addition, Zakynthos is indented with coves, so you can always find privacy here. Why isn't it heaven?!

Photo: angelos ka
Photo: Shutterstock

The coast of Zakynthos has the status national park. For Caretta turtles there is freedom here: they boldly come ashore to lay their eggs. On the island you will see fenced-off areas with signs that read: “Beware, Protected Caretta Nest.” Yes, the Greeks care about loggerheads!

Can I pet it?

Just don’t think that rare turtles walk in herds along the coast. The best chance of seeing them is on the open sea. To do this, sign up for an excursion on a boat with a transparent bottom. The ticket price for an adult is 30 euros, for a child it is half the price. Daredevils can dive into the water with scuba gear and swim with the turtle. Caretta-caretta are very friendly: don’t be afraid, they won’t bite.

Photo: Shutterstock
Photo: Shutterstock

If you want to save money, wander or swim along the shore. First, a large dark shadow will appear... A little patience, and in front of you is a beautiful carriage. Turtles come up for air quite often, so take advantage of the moment.

Photo: Shutterstock

Don't want to adopt?

If, after petting a huge turtle, you suddenly become imbued with tender feelings for it, there is a special offer for you. Caretta can be adopted, so to speak. Of course, they won’t be allowed to take the turtle home, but it’s easy to take an adult or newborn turtle under your financial guardianship! To do this, you need to contact the Archelon Turtle Help Center, which is located in the Glyfada area in the south of Athens.

For example, caring for an unhatched turtle, actually an egg, will cost 30 euros per month. You will definitely be informed when the baby is born and leaves the nest, and then they will tell you how it got to the sea. Plus, they will give you a personal certificate and memorable little things so that you can be proud and remember that there is one more carriage in the world.

Photo: Shutterstock
Photo: Shutterstock

“Adoption” of an adult costs 20 euros more. And if you want to patronize an entire nest or sponsor an injured loggerhead, get ready to shell out 80 euros. The center assures: no fraud! You can visit your ward at least every day. If you are inspired, fill out the form at