Did you know – Turtles wipe their own bums!?
20 Aug 2010
Kuredu Caves is a pretty unique dive site, not only in the Maldives, but across the world’s oceans.
Turtles are normally solitary creatures, preferring their own company to that of others. What makes Caves special is the community of green turtles that has taken up residency there.
Over the years, we have been fortunate enough to pick up on some interesting behavior and relationships that take place almost everyday on the site.
Located on one side of the site is an area that the turtles use as a cleaning station. Green turtles are meticulously clean. They keep themselves well groomed, and regular trips to this cleaning station ensures that their shells and other body parts are kept clean.
We were fortunate enough to capture on film, a bizarre ‘rubbing’ action which one of the male turtles undertook with his back fins after visiting the cleaning station. This initial incident took place around a year ago, and was almost forgotten about…until yesterday.
This weeks ‘Last 7 Days…On Kuredu’ installment shows, what we believe to be the turtle actually wiping its bum! Take a close look at the video, and after enjoying the stunning visibility and close turtle action, pay attention to the turtles being cleaned, and what follows. Keep an eye out as well for the opportunist bat fish looking for a quick snack. Let us know what you think…