supreme

Green Sea Turtle basking in the sun 

*************

The Green Sea Turtle is the largest hard-shelled sea turtle, according to Wikipedia and The Hawaiian Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) site. What was this turtle doing on the beach near our Polynesian Shores condo (Maui) on the sunny January afternoon we saw it? According to the Hawaiian Green Turtle site above, it was probably basking:

"One interesting behavior of the Hawaiian green turtle is its fondness for crawling ashore at isolated sites in order to bask. Basking is rare among marine turtles, and has been observed in only a few populations in the Pacific. Hawaiian green turtles bask, but this behavior seems to be limited to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It is thought that they do this for thermoregulation (they like to warm up in the sun), resting (they like to sleep in the sun), and perhaps for protection from tiger sharks (they don't like to be eaten). Sounds just like people to us."

Thursday Challenge

Next Week: SYMMETRY (Balanced, Similar, Rhythmic, Centered, Harmonious,...)