Sea Snakes and Turtles - Reef Life of the Andaman - Part 20

Banded sea kraits are one of the most venomous creatures on the planet, but they are little danger to divers. Their mouths are tiny and while underwater they are prepossessed with hunting for their natural prey of eels and fishes. The tail has evolved into a flat paddle which the snake uses to propel itself through the water. Although superbly adapted to life underwater, the sea krait is still an air-breathing reptile and it will surface to breath every few minutes. A hawksbill turtle also takes a breath of air at the surface and then makes its way back to the seabed in search of food. In the Andaman the hawksbill turtle is the most common of these ancient reptiles. Hawksbill turtles have a wide-ranging diet that includes cnidarians such as these hammer coral polyps and this jellyfish. Sadly they can be quite indiscriminate in their eating habits and are easily poisoned by eating plastic bottles and other man-made debris. This turtle appears to mistake my camera lens for food. Whereas the hawksbill has two pairs of plates between its eyes, the green turtle has just a single pair, and a less pronounced beak. At Donald Duck Bay, one or two green turtles often hang around moored boats in search of food. With care, they can be fed by hand. Harlequin shrimps have very interesting eating habits.