Unidentified

This and the following three sightings (4539056, 4539057, 4539058) are of the same turtle. The sequence of images has been spread across four NatureMapr sightings to provide as much record information as possible of the turtle’s behaviour as it drifted on the canal surface over a 70-minute period. Barbara initially saw what appeared to be a dead Green Turtle floating on the surface of the boat canal leading off from the bay. The turtle was clearly drifting into the canal with the incoming tide as well as being blown in that direction by the strong wind. As we watched the drifting turtle its flippers suddenly raised above the water surface and were then forced down into the water to push the turtle’s head above the surface. With its head above water and its eyes closed, the turtle took a breath and then resumed floating with its head submerged, drifting along. It repeated this breathing behaviour at intervals over the following 70 minutes, by which time it had drifted beneath a jetty and into the main boat lane. Close examination of the images shows the turtle had its eyes either fully closed or just slightly open each time its head emerged from the water for a breath. My understanding is that this is one of the types of sleeping behaviour that these turtles undergo, particularly out in deeper waters. I assume that the turtle we saw was either asleep or dozing as it drifted along the surface of the canal. The turtle eventually took several breaths and deep dived without us seeing it return to the surface. The four NatureMapr sightings taken together, appear to record the sleeping/dozing behaviour of this type of turtle.