Today I was on the capture boat and it was the most amazing day. It started with one of our group of volunteers, Peter, capturing a turtle by himself. This is no easy feat, he had to free dive to about 20 feet, grab the turtle and bring it to the surface.
In total we captured 6 turtles, the last one being the most amazing. There was a couple of loggerhead turtles, probably mating. These animals are huge. The head of the male was bigger than a person's. Only the smaller female could be brought aboard and that was not easy. It weighed 125 pounds. It was a beautiful turtle. I do have pictures but they will have to wait for a better internet connection for download.
I got to release one of the turtles back in the water, a 30 kilogram Hawksbill. Also got to help the vets with measurements and collection of parasite samples, and collection of blood samples. Controlling the huge turtle while it was measured and sampled required someone to actually sit on it, in addition to the towel over the eyes. A bite from this turtle could take a person's hand.
This was the end of the survey. We finished all segments and had many more sightings than last year, we will get a summary soon.
Now we have the afternoon to relax. Some of us will do some last minute snorkeling before we return the rental equipment.
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