Hello Pom Pom Lovers,

Our marine biologist Oriana and Cecilia, one of our guests, had the opportunity to observe a rare and amazing event, around the Island: green turtles mating!

Sea turtle mating is a very unusual sight to observe in the wild. Most sea turtles species are solitary creatures and only come together during mating season. Mating can actually be a quite dangerous activity for sea turtles since the male holds onto the female and she has to support the weight of both of them and regularly surface to breath!

Turtle Mating @ Pom Pom Island

Generally, when sea turtles reach the sexual maturity they migrate from their feeding grounds to the beach where they were born. Female turtles swim back every 2-3 years, while male turtles migrate annually. The male, approach a female sea turtle and gently bite her neck and flippers. If she does not try to get away, the male climbs onto the female turtle’s back and holds on to her carapace with the long, sharp claws of his front flippers. The way he hooks on to the edge of the female’s shell often results in a scratched shell and bleeding wounds in the soft parts of her body. Copulation can take place on the surface or underwater.

After the male and female separate, they mate again with other sea turtles. A female will mate with several males and store the sperm for several months until she is able to fertilize all of her eggs and start nesting.