Hawksbill Sea Turtle

Photo: Albert Kang · CC BY-NC

Hawksbill turtles forage on the sponge and soft coral communities throughout the coral garden, their narrow pointed beaks allowing them to extract prey from crevices inaccessible to other grazers. Lankayan Island is an active hawksbill nesting beach, so the turtles encountered on this site are frequently nesting females that feed on the reef between egg-laying cycles. Their presence reflects both the island's protected status and the health of the surrounding sponge community.