" Try to be like a turtle
at ease in your
own shell. "

Distribution of the Turtle

Five species of sea turtles that are in risk of extinction live in Sri Lanka; they are harmed by poaching, habitat loss, and pollution. Turtle hatcheries have been built throughout the nation's coastline to save turtle eggs and release young turtles into the ocean as a response to these dangers. The best turtle hatcheries in Sri Lanka and their conservation initiatives will be discussed in this article.

Best time to see turtles in Sri Lanka

You might be wondering what the greatest time is to see turtles in Sri Lanka now that you know where to go. This largely depends on the location or locations you visit to witness the turtles. The greatest time to go on an expedition to observe turtles in Rekawa, Sri Lanka is from April to July, but the best time to go to Pigeon Island is from May to October. No matter what time of year you go, you can take excursions like visiting a turtle hatchery and feeding turtles in Turtle Beach. choose sure to choose a sensible excursion choice!

Conservation of Sri Lankan turtles

Suranjan Karunarathna (Nature Explorations & Education Team, Moratuwa, Sri Lanka; dmsameera@gmail.com), Thilina D. Surasinghe (Presenter- Department of Biological Sciences, Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, MA; tsurasinghe@bridgew.edu), Thasun Amarasinghe (Research Center for Climate Change, University of Indonesia, Kampus UI, Depok, Indonesia; thasun@rccc.ui.ac.id), Sujan Henkanaththegedara (Department of Biological & Environmental Sciences, Longwood University, Virginia, USA; henkanaththegedarasm@longwood.edu), Majintha Madawala (South Australian Herpetology Group, South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA, Australia; majintham@yahoo.com), Dinesh Gabadage (Biodiversity Conservation Society, Stanly ThilakaratneMawatha, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka; degabadage@gmail.com), and Madhava Botejue (Biodiversity Conservation Society, Stanly ThilakaratneMawatha, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka; madhavabotejue@gmail.com) Turtles are integral to freshwater and wetland ecosystem functions as herbivores, carnivores, and scavengers in food webs. Turtles have extensive home ranges and utilize numerous aquatic and woodland habitats to satisfy different life-history requirements, therefore, “fortress conservation” is inadequate in turtle conservation. We investigated population densities of two “widely-distributed” species- Common Black Turtle (Melanochelys trijuga) and Sri Lanka Flap-shelled Turtle (Lissemys ceylonensis)- in Sri Lanka at 79 riverine habitats across urban-rural gradients. The population densities of each focal species were individuals ha-1. Habitats intercepting greatest extents of urbanization had the lowest densities of both species. Extent of marshlands and availability of large woody debris positively correlated with turtle densities. An interview survey we conducted revealed that ½ of local inhabitants have slaughtered turtles while nearly ¾ of locals consumed turtles regularly. Only 1/5 of the interviewees were aware of environmental benefits of turtles. Turtles ranks high on the most imperiled vertebrates of the northeastern US (NE-US), thus, our study sheds insights on regional turtle conservation. Life-history, natural history, and conservation status of turtles are comparable in Sri Lanka and NE-US. The causes of imperilment in both regions include wetland loss and fragmentation, river impoundment, hydrologic modifications, altered riparian zone, water pollution, loss of structural diversity in riverscapes, and overharvesting. In NE-US, turtle populations are not limited to protected areas; many species nest in homesteads, hibernate in unprotected wetlands, and disperse through the urban matrix. We recommend that least-altered and rural riverscapes be used as dispersal corridors to maintain turtle metapopulation dynamics. Over 50% of the undeveloped woodlands and rural wilderness, where conservation opportunities exist in NE-US, are managed by numerous stewards for different purposes. Therefore, delineation of multiuse conservation networks at ecoregion-scale (the Acadian/Appalachian highlands, northern Coastal Plains), including management of critical core habitats and buffer zones are imperative. Turtle habitats confer many ecosystem services- flood mitigation, water purification, groundwater recharge, and freshwater fish conservation.

WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF TURTLES IN TURTLE HATCHERIES IN SRI LANKA?

Before getting to know more about the amazing things you get to experience at turtle hatcheries of sri lanka,let us have a look at the five type of sea turtles you can find in the Sri lanka

  1. Green Turtle
  2. Hawksbil Turtle
  3. Olive Ridley Turtle
  4. Loggerhead Turtle
  5. Leatherback Turtle

Interesting Things to Do at Turtle Hatcheries in Sri Lanka

Yes,as we mentioned earlier,there are many interesting things that you can do at turtle hatcheries.they are as folows

  • Green Turtle
  • Hawksbil Turtle
  • Olive Ridley Turtle
  • Loggerhead Turtle
  • Leatherback Turtle
Did You Know?
  • Turtles are reptiles and records show their existence during the days of the dinosaurs 200 million years ago High mortality rates for hatchlings, juveniles and adult turtles are commonly due to predation by sharks, birds, fish, fishing gear (long line), ingestion of marine debris, boat strikes, trash on beaches and pollution.
  • Only one hatchling in a thousand make it to adulthood (15-25 yrs) They can live to be over 100 yrs old.



DID YOU KNOW?
HOW DO TURTLES SLEEP?
  • Aquatic turtles usually sleep underwater. For sea turtles, they can remain sleeping underwater, without emerging to the surface to breathe! Freshwater turtles bury themselves in mud or sand at the bottom of the pond or river, Terrestrial tortoises typically dig a burrow to sleep in.



DID YOU KNOW?
  • Gopher tortoises are ecosystem engineers and keystone species! This means their extinction would result in measurable changes to the ecosystem in which they're found. Gopher tortoise burrows provide shelter for species like burrowing owls, gopher frogs and Indigo snakes.