Green Sea Turtle

Photo: Mario · © all rights reserved

Green turtles are the signature species of Buck Island, with a resident foraging population grazing seagrass beds on the island's leeward side and resting beneath coral ledges on the reef. Females nest on Buck Island's beaches between May and September, and the monument's no-take status means turtles here show unusually little fear of divers, allowing extended close-range observation. Long-term monitoring by NPS staff has documented individual turtles returning to the same foraging patches for over two decades.