Turtle Conservation And Education Center( TCEC) opened by the governors of Bali, Mr Dewa Beratha (20 January 2006) On Serangan island of Bali .TCEC is developed as part of the Comprehensive strategy to eradicate illegal turtle trading on the island .Established on a land of 2.4 ha, the TCEC is trying to support the community of Serangan to find the alternative beside illegal turtle business. The center harness the potential education, tourism, conservation and research with a liberal sprinkling of business to give endangered turtles one more chance on Serangan. TCEC is supported by WWF, Governor Bali, the major of Denpasar, municipality authorities, the Provincial Nature Resource Conservation Agency and the local community.
The four fundamental aspects to the center including putting a definitive end to turtle trade, by encouraging the public not to consume the turtle products (religious use or otherwise) and to support turtle Conservation in general; providing turtles for rituals without their killing and monitoring turtle size and number, so that their use can be strictly controlled and regulated; offering employment opportunities for locasl from Serangan; and finally acting as watchdog for turtle trade - in Serangan in particular and Bali in general.
The center also directly helps to protect turtles; e.g., by hosting injured animals, collecting nests from tourist beaches and buying eggs from locals ( prevent them from being consumed). The eggs are bred at the center and the hatchlings are raised for about one month and then released into freedom. Out of the seven sea turtle species, three are kept and raise at the center.
The TCEC helps to preserve these
wonderful creatures going extinct. However, as all charitable organizations, we strongly depend on donations. Every amount, even a small one, will help us.
Become a volunteer
Volunteering with sea turtles is a once in a lifetime experience. If you are looking to spend some time as a volunteer, please contact us or visit our website.
Why Do turtles Eat Jellyfish ? How Do They Eat jellyfish
Turtle eat jellyfish because they are omnivore, which means they eat both
plants and animals. In the wild it easy for turtles to catch jellyfish because they
move very slowly in the water. That is why, if a hungry turtle comes across a
jellyfish, it won’t hesistate to swim up to it and eat it.
You may think that they are very peaceful and only eat seaweed and algae,
but when they are hungry, they won’t hesitate to catch other fish and eat them.
You may now be wondering what else turtle eat and how many jellyfish they
eat on regular basis. So read on to discover the answer to these question and
more.
How does A Turtle eat A Jellyfish
A turtle eats a jellyfish By Swimming up to it and then taking a bite.
If it’s a small jellyfish, the turtle will take bite until it has eaten the whole thing.
Jelly fish moves very slowly, so a turtle can take it’s time to eat it
Can Jellyfish Swim Away from Turtles?
Jellyfish move incredibly slowly. They usually pump their bodies and can only
move a few inches ( 2 cms to 5 cms ) every few seconds
Some jellyfish don’t swim at all; they just get carried along by the current.
A turtle can easyly swim fast enough to catch the jellyfish.
So if turtle want to eat a jellyfish, it always can.
Basiccally, the jellyfish won’t swim away from turtle.
Why Doesn’t A Jellyfish Sting The Turtle ?
According to the New York Times, almost all predator fish such as sharks,
swordfish, and Tuna love to eat jellyfis.
Turtle are type of reptile in the same family as lizards and Iguana
They have very Thick skin on their insides, like hard leather. This means that
the sting don’t get through.
On the other hand, human have sensitive skin.
That is why when you brush up against a jellyfish or accidentally stand on one
at the beach, it really stings.
This sting hurts so much that you need to put vinegar on your skin to stop it
from hurting.
But a turtle’s skin is very thick and tough, so it doesn’t even feel the sting.
It’s also the same the other fish that eat jellyfish, like shark and tunas. Their
mouth and inside are very tough.
But then, not all jellyfish sting is so small that a turtle doesn’t even feel it.
How Much Does A Turtle Eat On A Normal Days
Turtle are omnivore and eat mix of plant and animals.
The small animal they eat include crabs, sea snails, fish, jellyfish, and shrimp.
And the plants that they eat including seaweed, algae coral
According the National Geographic, sea turtles eat about 73% of their body
weight every days
However, this in the summertime when there is plenty of food for them to eat in
the ocean.
Turtle will often eat a lot and then not eat anything for long periods of time,
much like bears that hibernate in the winter
But each species of turtle is different. Turtle can also go without eating for a
very long time
Adult turtles can go as long as 6 months without food
However, baby turtles need to eat more regularly – once every week or so.
But as they get older, they can survive longer and longer without eating.
Related Question
Does anything eat turtles? Turtles get eaten by sharks and killer whales.
Although turtles have a hard shell that shark or killer whales can’t break with
their mounth, they will eat the fin, tail, and the head of a turtle if they get the
opportunity.
Can turtle stay out of the water? Turtle can stay out of the water for
prolonged periodes of time. How ever, they can be attacked by dog, pigs, and
other animal because they move very slowly. So,they generally only stay on
dry land when it’s save or to lay eggs.
Parting Thoughs
Turtles eat jellyfish because of their diet.
Jellyfish are easy to catch for turtle when they find them because jellyfish swim
very slowly or not at all
During the summer month, turtles eat an incredible amount of food.
So, they will quikly snap up a jellyfish if they come across one.
They don’t get stung by the jellyfish because there is very tough.
Can turtle breath under water
Turtle cannot breathe underwater. They have to come up to the surface to inhale air
because they breathe through the external nares located above their mouth. However,
turtles can hold their breath for long time underwater. This gives a false impression that
they are breathing underwater.
Now that you know turtles cannot breathe in the water, let’s also understand how turtles
breath and how long they can hold their breath underwater.
But first, let us understand why turtles cannot breath underwater.
Why Turtles Cannot Breathe Underwater ?
Although turtle are aquatic, They are primarily land creatures.
Unlike fish that need to constantly stay in the water to survive and live, Turtle need to
come to the water surface to breathe air.
Having said that, there are some freshwater turtles that can absorb oxygen from the
water through the internal walls of their Cloaca or anus
They breathe in this manner during their hibernation period
Now, even if most of the turtles cannot breathe underwater, they can stay underwater
for a long time.
They can remain submerged in water during winter by lowering their hearth rate and
living off their body fat.
Okay, if turtle cannot breath underwater, then how do they breath ? let’s talk about now
How do turtle breath ?
To get oxygen, Turtles breathe air through the external nares that are located above
their mouth.
When they breathe, air move into the trachea through the glottis.
The trachea of the turtle is elongated and is also flexible that is why a turtle can move
its head in and out of the shell
The trachea splits into two bronchi near the heart to delivery the air to the lungs.
It is through the lung that the oxygen from the air is absorbed into the turtle’s body.
However, the turtle shell is hard, and it cannot expand and contact to help the turtle in
breathing.
But, the turtle’s shell help in moving the air in and out of the lungs.
Turtles also move their limbs, which helps them in breathing by altering the pressure in
the lungs
Alright coming back to the breath underwater, you just saw that turtle can hold their
breath underwater. But for how long?
How Long can turtle hold their breath underwater?
Turtle are fascinating creature. They can hold their breath underwater for prolonged
periods
Different species of turtles have different capacity to hold their breath.
Some turtles can their breath for as short as 30 minutes underwater while other turtle
species, such as sea turtle, can stay underwater for hours without coming up to the
surface to breathe
During routine activities, turtles can hold their breath for 45 minutes to 1 hour
How ever, they usually dive for 5 minutes, and then in between the dives, they come to
the surface to breathe air for few second.
Painted turtles or pet slider can swim underwater for an extend periode too
The majority of the pet turtles sleep underwater at the night.
They come out of the water only a few time to breathe and then resume sleeping
They increase their rate of blood flow to absorb more oxygen while breathing.
Matama ( Chelus ) are freshwater turtles that reside in river, pond and sluggish
backwaters.
Their can hold their breath underwater for about an hour.
They remain still in murky water sometimes for more than an hour to grab prey for their
meal.
Surfacing out to breathe ruin their chance of catching the fish or other prey that comes
near them because the prey then become aware of the turtle’s presence.
So many times, these turtles remain motionless and hold their breath for more than an
hour
Sea turtles also cannot breathe underwater.
However,they can hold their breath for 4 to 7 hours underwater while resting or
sleeping.
Okay! That was about turtles breathing underwater. But how do they breath when they
are hibernating?
Turtle use the but breathing technique when in hibernation. Let’s talk about this now.
How Do Turtles Breathe Underwater By Using The Butt Breathing
Technique
Several species of turtles remain submerged underwater for several months.
This happens particularly in winter when they hibernate. That is when they use the butt
breathing technique to survive .
During hibernation, turtles breath out of their butt. This term is called Cloacal
respiration.
It is not exactly breathing, but they diffuse oxygen in and carbon dioxide out using their
cloaca.
During this period, turtle do not come out of the water to breathe. Instead, they extract
oxygen from water it self
They do this through cloaca as it has a high density od blood vessels that allows the
turtle to absorb oxygen from water through their skin.
As their metabolism rate is slow during hibernation, their need for oxygen also
decreases
So, the oxygen that is diffused from the water running over them is sufficient for them to
survive till spring.
Parting Thoughts
Turtles cannot breathe underwater. They need to come to the surface to breathe air,
else they can drown.
However, they can stay underwater for long time.
Turtles breathe air just like humans. They breathe through the external nares above
their mouth.
And during hibernation, they use the cloacal respiration technique to take-in oxygen
from the surrounding water
TCEC, Turtle Conservation and Education Center : location jalan tukad punggawa lingkungan Ponjok, Serangan 80229, Denpasar, Bali , Indonesia
Email : edysemara@gmail.com
info.tcec@gmail.com
Contact : +62 81 338 490357