Hawksbill sea turtle

Photo: Ivan Khokhryakov · CC BY-NC

Hawksbills feed almost exclusively on sponges, using their narrow pointed beak to extract prey from reef crevices in an ecological role no other large reef animal fills. At Abu Dabbab they are seen foraging on the coral fringing reef at the bay entrance, where sponge diversity is high on the reef walls. Critically endangered globally, the Red Sea population benefits from Egypt's ban on turtle hunting, and Abu Dabbab's calm conditions make behavioural observation particularly rewarding.