Philippine Sea Turtles

For more than 100 million years sea turtles have covered vast distances across the world's oceans, filling a vital role in the balance of marine habitats. 

June 16 is World Sea Turtle Day. These beauties can be seen in Twin Rocks Anilao Batangas Philippines. Fifteen years ago, anilao twin rocks was barren with a few spirited fishes that survived the major catastrophe of dynamite fishing. Sea turtles can only be found in isolated places like Balicasag Island of Bohol. Rare and mythical was what they were. But through the joined efforts of conservationists around the world and Filipino diving community, they have brought back not only one but innumerable sea turtles in Anilao Batangas. One of which seemed as old as time which I encountered in Mainit School Dive site, near Bubbles Dive site in Mabini Batangas. 

Here are some fun facts as written by Eco Watch....

                                                                                       be sure to visit their 

website :https://www.ecowatch.com/9-super-cool-facts-about-sea-turtles-1891175453.html

1. They think jellyfish are delicious.

Leatherbacks and hawkbill turtles feed on jellyfish and keep their populations in check. Plastic looks like jellyfish when it's floating in the water and that's why so many turtles die from ingesting plastic—they were going for a tasty snack.

2. They're the oceans' lawnmowers.

Green sea turtles have a more plant-based diet and eat seagrass. By keeping seagrass short, they prevent it from getting tall and harming other marine creatures.

3. They cannot retract into their shell like other turtles.

Since they don't have to protect themselves from predators for most of their life on water, sea turtles cannot retract their flippers and head into their shells. Their anatomy makes them more agile when under the sea but highly vulnerable when nesting and hatching.

4. Temperature dictates the sex of baby turtles.

Warmer nests lead to more females and cooler ones lead to more males—which is why climate change could drastically affect their populations by creating too many females and too few males to match them for reproduction.

5. They've been around for a very, very long time.

An estimated 110 million years is how long sea turtles have existed on Earth, which means they once shared the planet with T-Rex and other dinosaurs.

6. They can hold their breath for five hours underwater.

To accomplish this mighty feat they slow their heart rate to up to nine minutes in between heart beats in order to conserve oxygen.