Zante Caretta Turtles

Caretta turtles are one of the many attractions that a Zante holiday can offer. Zante can be a wonderful trip destination for nature lovers. Caretta turtles are logged head turtles found only in Greece in all the European nations. Even in Greece, the favorite place of these turtles is zante. This reptile is said to be originated from dinosaurs due to its large size and its and the shape of its external organs. It actually lives in the seas around zante but it comes to zante to lay eggs and thus, these turtles can be seen near zante so often.

Caretta turtles lay their eggs at the age of four. They dig huge holes in sand and lay about 100 to 150 eggs in those holes. These eggs are kept in the hole for about a month and a half. The size of these eggs is that of a table tennis ball. The reptiles find the time during the night preferable to lay their eggs. They dig the holes and lay the eggs in the night itself. The little ones too hatch out of the eggs at the time of night. The mother does not warm these eggs, but the heat of the sun and the proximity to the sea helps these eggs to hatch on their own.

After the eggs hatch, the baby turtles enter the waters on their own. Many people believe that the moonlight and its reflection in the seawater tell them the right way to enter the water. Though the mother lays eggs in such a large number, only 10 to 15 from each nest survive. This is because; these reptiles have a number of enemies that keep an eye on the coast to eat the newly hatched babies. Thus, these reptiles are very rare to be found.

Caretta turtles have many enemies. Many a times, even tourist step onto a nest on the coast and kill these young ones even before they are born. When enjoying the beaches in Zante as part of your Zante holiday you must always be careful that you don't go too close to the turtles. The lights on the island, trick the turtles and they don’t lay eggs even at nighttime. Many a times the baby turtles that generally follow the light, move in the opposite direction as the light of the city is much brighter than that of the moons reflection.