Nesting Green Sea Turtle, Chelonia Mydas
Ela Beach otherwise known to the traditional landowners as Era Koni. Ela derived from Era means turtle, hence Ela Beach is "Turtle Beach". Ela Beach was a nesting beach for turtles. I would say that they would have been both Hawksbills and Green Turtles due to the seagrass beds that stretch out to where the sun can no longer reach the sandy bottom. Dugongs could also be found out from Ela Beach. What has happened to these fantastic, charismatic mega fauna? Wiped out!! These populations no longer exist. In the space of 30 years we have wiped out this particular population of marine turtle from our beaches. What a tourist attraction that could have been. Come down to Ela Beach and watch the turtles nesting, right in the heart of Port Moresby. Take a simple drive down after dinner at Ela Beach Hotel or Crown Plaza and there you have it. The ability to witness an act of nature which has continued since the time of the dinosaurs.
To see a turtle laying is a very humbling experience. These animals spend their whole life time out at sea and return to the sand in which they were born to lay eggs. Watching this happen is magic, respect! Respect for mother nature and the intricate web of inter relationships she weaves, everything connected to everything. A thread loose could cause the whole thing to unravel.
As previously stated , a turtle always goes back to the same beach to lay its eggs, when it hatches and walks into the water it imprints... this means that, that exact beach on which it hatched will be forever etched into their instinct and they will return only to the beach that they were hatched on. So, we no longer have the turtles of Era koni. This is sad but a reality.
Survival rate for these little cuties is 1/1000. Staggering.
Sometimes I like to imagine that I could go back 200 years and peer under water. What would I see. The wonders of a healthy ecosystem, functioning, well balanced, beautiful, enchanting, mysterious, breath taking. Schools of barracuda encircling you, whales sharks, coral trout, manta rays, turtles, dugongs, dolphins. The horizon a buzz with birds circling, telling you that a massive school of migrating tuna is passing through. All these sights are of a rare occurrence today.
To see a turtle laying is a very humbling experience. These animals spend their whole life time out at sea and return to the sand in which they were born to lay eggs. Watching this happen is magic, respect! Respect for mother nature and the intricate web of inter relationships she weaves, everything connected to everything. A thread loose could cause the whole thing to unravel.
As previously stated , a turtle always goes back to the same beach to lay its eggs, when it hatches and walks into the water it imprints... this means that, that exact beach on which it hatched will be forever etched into their instinct and they will return only to the beach that they were hatched on. So, we no longer have the turtles of Era koni. This is sad but a reality.
Survival rate for these little cuties is 1/1000. Staggering.
Sometimes I like to imagine that I could go back 200 years and peer under water. What would I see. The wonders of a healthy ecosystem, functioning, well balanced, beautiful, enchanting, mysterious, breath taking. Schools of barracuda encircling you, whales sharks, coral trout, manta rays, turtles, dugongs, dolphins. The horizon a buzz with birds circling, telling you that a massive school of migrating tuna is passing through. All these sights are of a rare occurrence today.
What do we do? We work with what we have got. We cant bring back those lost turtles or dugongs but we can try to improve what we have now. That is a beach in the middle of our capital. Its not far from your home. How great would it be to be able to go swimming there without worrying about how dirty the water is.
My first experiences with the ocean were on Ela Beach in the 80's.
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