A camera attached to a female loggerhead turtle brings new insights into their secret world. The footage reveals that these turtles are far more social than previously thought and that they do feed during the nesting season.
TRANSCRIPT
- [Narrator] The view from the camera is crystal clear, and straight away, our turtle rewrites a common scientific theory.
Female loggerheads were thought to be solitary during the nesting season.
But this footage proves they do interact with one another far more than what's ever expected.
And there's another surprise discovery when this turtle encounters a sunken anchor.
- [Man In Striped Shirt] Oh my God!
- [Man In Yellow Jacket] What is she doing, is she feeding?
- She is. - Wow, she is.
- [Man In Striped Shirt] It's feeding on the seaweed, on the anchor.
That's unbelievable.
(laughs) And one of the really, really interesting element is that it's so soon after the nesting.
I certainly did not expect that.
- It's the first time ever that we've seen this behavior.
- Exquisite.
This turtle is gonna put me out of job, put every underwater camera person out of a job.
- [Narrator] This is the evidence we were looking for.
It proves that these turtles do feed during their five month breeding season.
So this marine ecosystem needs more protection, and that can't come soon enough based on what she films next.
It's a discarded fishing net.
This smothering a large part of the reef.
The turtle is clearly trying to feed through the net, but if she accidentally swallows it, it could have a negative effect on her health.
It's a stark reminder of why these waters need safeguarding.
Thankfully, our turtle swims off and out into deeper waters.
