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Archive - Archive 2004 - July 2013

ISLAND CONSERVATION-(Too) close encounters with male turtles! |14 January 2008

Suddenly they noticed what we term a batay torti in Creole: two male green turtles were squabbling over a sexually receptive female, with one finally successful in its attempts to mount her, while the other thrashed and floundered desperately, trying to force the first male off the back of the female. To M. and C.’s amusement, male no. 2 then tried to mount male no. 1. This was a photo opportunity not to be missed. The two human observers decided to move closer to the ménage à trois to secure some more detailed footage.

It was a terrible mistake. “I got really near to them,” M. recalled (we had all stopped eating so as not to miss anything of the story). “I pressed the record button on my camera and moved around them so that I could film everything from all possible angles. I noticed that the top male had not quite settled down yet. It seemed to be still fidgeting. The bottom male did not move much, while the female appeared quite serene. I pointed my camera at her and zoomed in. Suddenly, I felt something pressing onto my back. I turned around. It was one of the flippers of male no. 2! It had broken away from male no. 1 and was now making for me!”

We doubled over with laughter and someone dropped a glass and spilled water on the table as M. described how he almost let go of his camera as he fled from the scene. From the corner of his eye, he could see the sexually aroused male turtle now hovering agitatedly over his friend, C.! Needless to say, C., too, decided that discretion is the better part of valour – “Prudence est mère de sûreté” were his own words when he gave us his version of the incident later.

Now, several times afterwards I made use of this story for what I thought was its entertainment value. It never failed to trigger off at worst a hearty chuckle when told to friends. Imagine my surprise when, in the latest issue of the Marine Turtle Newsletter (no. 117), a very serious publication devoted to marine turtle research and conservation, I came across an article entitled “Sexual harassment by a male green turtle” by Brian Bowen of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology. Brian describes an incident that happened to him in May last year at Cocos Island off Australia:

“…a large green turtle came up the reef slope, and veered towards me rather than exiting the area. This was a mature male green turtle with a large tail, and a mass exceeding 100 kg. The turtle approached slowly, on a course that passed about two metres to my left. Immediately after passing , the turtle veered sharply towards my backside.” Brian turned and placed the tip of his Hawaiian sling, a 2½-metre long three-pronged spear used to collect reef fish for scientific study, on the turtle’s side behind the fore flipper. “In this orientation, the turtle and I made three full rotations, with increasing pressure applied on the spear as the turtle tried to approach my backside. Subsequently the turtle broke off the engagement and continued on his previous track towards the shallow reef.”

It turns out from Brian’s article in the Marine Turtle Newsletter that it is known that male turtles “occasionally attempt copulation with human swimmers, snorkellers, or scuba divers”. I asked Jeanne Mortimer, who has been studying turtles in Seychellois waters since 1981, if she had had any such close encounters. “Indeed I have”, she responded. “Males can be quite indiscriminate when they are in the mating mood! Males of one species will even mate with females of other species, producing hybrids. I sometimes see several males, piled one on top of the other, with only the bottom male actually touching the female. Then there are all these stories of male land tortoises trying to mount large stones!  I can show you video footage of an Asian tortoise trying to mate with a wok (a metal Chinese cooking pot with a curved base like a bowl)! Yes, in fact I have been approached by males of both green and hawksbill turtles in a rather forceful and suggestive manner, but I managed to fend them off.”

We have to admit that there is something voyeuristically titillating in these stories. But, of course, they must not detract from the fact that on the whole turtles are beautiful endangered animals that almost never harm humans. Their mating habits are yet another aspect of their fascinating biology.

The Island Conservation Society promotes the conservation and restoration of island ecosystems.

by Pat Matyot

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