Photography by Valji Varia
www.natural-variation.com
Sea turtles seem to have the ability to detect magnetic fields and also determine latitude and longitude. The female turtle emerges from the sea at night and ascends the beach, searching for a suitable nesting site. She then begins to dig using all four flippers. Once she has created a body pit, she begins to dig an egg chamber using her rear flippers, alternating between the right and left flipper to scoops out the damp sand. She then pauses and begins contractions, her rear flippers rising off the sand. Following each contraction, the female turtle will drop between one and four eggs in quick succession. The eggs will almost fill the chamber. Once her clutch is complete, she closes the nest using her rear flippers in a similar way to digging her egg chamber, just in reverse. She places sand on top of the chamber, until the eggs are completely covered.