Hawksbill Turtle

Photo: Massimo De Bellis Vitti · © all rights reserved

Hawksbill turtles forage on the sponge and coral communities of Pigeon Island's reefs throughout the year, with individuals known to return to the same feeding territories across successive seasons. Their narrow beaks allow them to extract invertebrates from crevices inaccessible to other reef grazers, making them a keystone species for reef structural complexity. IUCN-listed as critically endangered, encounters here carry particular conservation significance.