TORTOISES AND TURTLES

Aug 22, 2021 Consumer Concerns, News

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By Pat Dial

Kaieteur News – In Guyana, until about the 1950’s, it was very common for tortoises to be kept as pets, mostly by children and young persons. They were kept in the gardens or any fenced part of the yard. Most of these pets were small but kept growing over the years, being fed with grass and other vegetation. Everyone knew of the Aesop Fable of the Hare and the Tortoise and many children felt a sense of importance that they possessed a tortoise. In Georgetown and most of the coastal villages to Berbice very few knew the difference between a tortoise and a turtle and felt they were the same with alternate spellings. In the Interior Regions and on the Essequibo Coast, however, most people knew the difference between a tortoise and a turtle.
Actually, the differences between a tortoise and a turtle are quite marked. Tortoises live almost wholly on land, rarely go to the rivers or the sea while turtles are marine animals, and live in the sea except when they come on land to nest and lay their eggs. From being marine animals, turtles have flipper-like legs, which help them to swim in contrast to tortoises, which have club-like forelegs, which help them to walk firmly on land without any chance of slipping. Tortoises have thicker rounded and domed shells while turtles have thinner shells with legs, which are streamlined. Tortoises are strictly vegetarian while turtles are omnivorous.
The turtle is the more important of the species but it is also the most endangered. Guyana has the distinction of having four of the main species of marine turtles nesting on its shores. These are the Leatherback, the Hawksbill, the Green and the Olive Ridley. Their main nesting place is at Shell Beach in Region One and this is an area protected by Law with the Guyana Marine Conservation Society assisted by the World Wildlife Fund Guyana and others having general surveillance over the area in their work of conservation.
In addition to these sea turtles, there is a species of River turtles known as Yellow Spotted River Turtle, which nests on eight beaches along the Rupununi River. Unfortunately, these Yellow Spotted turtles are over harvested by the villagers, their eggs are a delicacy, and this trend has resulted in their being endangered. The Protected Areas Commission and the River Monitoring Project have been working to protect and conserve the Yellow Spotted and it is hoped that in time their efforts would be successful in stabilising their numbers.
Sea turtles play an important role in maintaining the health of the oceans and in the planet’s food chain since they regulate a number of organisms, which could negatively affect the food chain. For example, the Green Turtle feeds on the sea grass and this prevents the grass from growing too long and suffocating itself. The healthy sea grass beds, which result, are a nursery ground for many marine species and are a carbon sink and oxygen provider for the oceans. The Hawksbill turtle feeds on sponges, which if allowed to grow unchecked, would smother the slower-growing corals. Coral reefs are known to provide shelter for thousands of marine organisms and many fish spawn in these reefs and shelter the juvenile fish until they are mature enough to enter the wider ocean. In addition, coral reefs protect coastlines from wave action and storms. The Leatherbacks feed on jellyfish, which prey on fish eggs. By controlling the numbers of jellyfish, they are therefore able to maintain or increase the fish stocks of the oceans. The Loggerhead turtles feed on hard-shelled prey, such as crustaceans, for example crabs and by breaking up the shells, they quicken the rate at which the shells disintegrate and integrate into the chain of nutrient recycling.
Both tortoises and marine turtles are endangered species and their loss or continued diminution would destroy the balance of Nature, especially in respect of marine life, and be against the interest of human beings. Ironically, it is not the birds, crabs or sharks, which prey upon their eggs and hatchlings, but humans, which pose by far the greater danger. Climate Change, for instance, militates against the health and population growth of turtles but humans are largely responsible for Climate Change. Humans are largely responsible for habitat destruction and are the greatest predators since they overharvest the turtles and their eggs. The other great threat to the turtles is the indiscriminate disposal of plastic waste in the waterways which eventually reach the oceans and which are often mistaken by turtles and other marine life for food. When such waste is consumed, it destroys the digestive system of the turtles and they die.
Tortoises and turtles are among the most gentle and harmless creatures in Nature and they play an important role in human wellbeing and individuals could play their part in protecting them.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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