6 things you should know about sea turtles in Sri Lanka - One of Sri Lanka’s well-protected marine creatures!

Sea turtles are an ancient species of animals that have been gracing the oceans for millions of years. They have been much larger, they have been a resilient variety of ocean dwellers and have even been carnivores aeons ago. But now their build has reduced in size and they have become a species that are more prone to decline. In appearance and character, they are gentle, they are innocent looking and they are indeed marvellous!

The ocean that surrounds Sri Lanka is home to 5 different species of turtles they are namely, hawksbill, loggerhead, green, olive ridley, and leatherback turtles. All of these turtle species are listed as endangered creatures by the international union for nature conservation (IUCN). Being one of the natures most beautiful and unique creatures, sea turtles are gentle and they are completely harmless to humans. But sadly most amounts of threats these creatures face are from humans.

Sea turtles have a strong memory of where they were born - though male turtles hardly visit the shores during their lifetime, female sea turtles visit their birthplace/beach to lay their eggs. No matter where they live in the far and wide ocean, the return to the same place they were born every single time to lay their eggs.

Though a few individuals capture and hunt sea turtles for their shells in Sri Lanka, most people are considerate when it comes to conserving them. However, being a nation that also depends on fishing as its source of income, a lot of sea turtles are harmed during the process. Many sea turtles get tangled in a fishing net and are accidentally captured by fishermen. During these incidents, the captured turtles are usually released back to the waters but some turtles, unfortunately, get injured or sometimes lose their lives. Also, sea turtles lay their eggs on many beaches around the island most of the times these eggs are collected by people and are conserved till they hatch but in some instances, these eggs will be consumed or destroyed by other predators before them being collected.

Sri Lankan government has strict regulations when it comes to animal conservation and sea turtles being an endangered species, are protected by law. Poaching and harming them in any way is illegal and it could even have the person responsible for getting imprisoned.

As an effort taken by the government, there are plenty of sea turtle conservation centres around the island and most of these sites are considered as popular places to visit in Sri Lanka. Here are few of such conservation centres that you should consider visiting – Kosgota Sea turtle conservation centre, Induruwa sea turtle conservation centre and Galbokka sea turtle conservation centre. Also, Truly Sri Lanka, a popular travel website states that tourists could volunteer to offer services to these centres and they could even make some donations if they are willing to.