Why Caretta Caretta 2

Caretta Caretta is one of 8 (according to some sources 7) species of sea turtles left in the world. This species of turtle is in danger of extinction and is listed in the Red Book.

The Mediterranean coast of Turkey is the nesting place of these turtles. But unfortunately, the development of infrastructure on the coast, the appearance of highways, large hotels on the coast – all this made a deck impact.

Caretta Caretta can be called the main symbol of Chirala. You can see turtle drawings and souvenirs everywhere. In Chiraly, they even made a square (park) Caretta Caretta.

What is the importance of Caretta Caretta for Chirala?

This species of turtle comes to this coast from the end of April to the beginning of September to lay its eggs in the sand. The turtle comes out of the sea to lay eggs only at night, then it feels as safe as possible. The presence of people on the beach at night has a very detrimental effect on it. A turtle that sees bright lights or loud noises on the beach understands that there are no safe conditions on land. Therefore, she will return to the sea and throw her eggs into the sea, which is the death of the turtles.

That is why there is no night life in Chirala: bars, clubs. There is no lighting near the shore, the locals try to create an appropriate atmosphere. Also, for this reason, from May 1 to September 30, entry to the beach is prohibited at night.

In Chirala, for more than 20 years, a large contribution to the preservation of Caretta Caretta is made by local volunteers who monitor the order at night, asking people to leave the beach, and in the morning at sunrise, they find nests with eggs along the tracks and mark them with special fences, marking them with a number and date so that vacationers could not harm the turtles.

Can you see the turtles themselves?

Adult female turtles live mainly in the open sea, and males live near rocks. It is almost impossible to see turtles on the beach itself, because mother turtles come out of the sea at night.