Individuality

Magda is teaching me about identifying individual turtles. 

Some turtles have very obvious individual characteristics. Ruby has a brown shell. Manini (Hawaiian for "small") is really small.  (I have not been able to get a picture of Manini because he only comes up  after it's too dark to get a good picture, but he's absolutely adorable.) Greenie's shell has a spot that is dented inwards, most likely caused by a collision with something. 

Other turtles have to be examined more closely. Each individual has a unique pattern of scales on their head,  like a fingerprint. It is important to count the number of scales because that differs as well. You can look at the tail to see if the turtle is male or female. Males have really long tails, useful for grasping onto females during mating. Females have short tails. You can also take note of any fibropapilloma tumors or abnormalities in the fins, such as if part of the fin is missing. 

 As I was learning all this, a rainbow appeared in the sky above the turtles. I think I posted that picture last time but I'll post it again for fun. 

"Okay,"  Magda said, "the next turtle that comes out of the water will be your turtle, named Anuenue. That's Hawaiian for 'rainbow'." 

A couple of minutes later a turtle washed up on shore. "There's Anuenue," said Magda. "Take the clipboard so you look professional. Go up to the turtle but remember to stay 15 feet away. Take a picture of the side of its head, its tail, and its plastron. Make sure to see if there are any tumors." (The plastron is  the underside of the shell, some of which is visible when the turtle lifts itself up to inch forward.) 

I was absolutely thrilled. 

Anuenue is male, has no tumors, and has 19 scales on the right side of his face. I have yet to memorize the pattern of scales. 

"Your next turtle will be Nalu," said Magda. "That's Hawaiian for 'wave'." 

Nalu is female, has a tumor on her left rear flipper, and also has 19 scales on her face. It was hard to count her scales because the picture wasn't that great. 

Now I will watch for these turtles every day and record when thy come and go.

Next time I'm going to bring my retro digital camera which is much better than my phone camera. 

The first picture is Anuenue, and the second is Nalu. 

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