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shell is beautifully mottled brown, orange and
gold, so is prized for handcrafts. Earrings,
combs, jewel boxes were made, but now this is
illegal. This species is not as good eating as
the Green Turtle. Hawksbills grow to 3 ft. long
and weigh 175 lbs and the main diet is of
sponges. The largest nesting concentration of
Hawksbills is on Long Island off North Sound.
Eighty to a hundred females lay four to five
hundred nests around Antigua and Barbuda, nesting
4-6 times a year at 15-day intervals. 18,000
hatchlings are produced a year, with only about
3% reaching adulthood. Hawksbills live to about
50 years if not taken by fishermen. In 1892, the
Globe Hotel in St. John’s had the best
Hawksbill soup. The early Indians of Antigua
perceived the Hawksbill as “a gift from the
Gods”. The turtle motif is often found on
their pottery as incised designs or as sculptured
handles. For information
about the Jumby Bay Hawksbill Project,
click here
Click here for more
Antigua reptiles.
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