THE TRUE ANCIENTS OF THE WORLD

They lived through the age of the dinosaurs. They survived the earth's age of ice. Sea turtles, the true ancients of the world, have been swimming the oceans for over 200 million years. The turtle is an important symbol in the mythologies of many indigenous cultures, usually representing creation, longevity, and wisdom in these belief systems. Turtles are thus truly ancient beings-both in geological and mythological terms. And for the first time in all these millennia, six out of the seven species are either endangered and on the verge of extinction, or threatened to become endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

Green turtles were a source of food, tools, and ornamentation for early Hawaiians. With the arrival of western culture, however, the level ofexploitation of this resource increased dramatically.

Large numbers of green turtles were harvested throughout the Hawaiian Islands through the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In 1974, the State of Hawaii finally passed a regulation providing some protection, but this was virtually ignored until 1978, when the Hawaiian green turtle was placed on the list of threatened species.

Turtle enthusiasts are spreading the word about saving this threatened species from extinction. Sea turtles evolved 180 million years ago, long before the Hawaiian Islands were formed. For turtles, Hawai`i is a luckier home than some other places.

When Christopher Columbus sailed through the Caribbean in 1503, he saw so many green sea turtles that he named three islands Las Tortugas. He called the turtles the most valuable reptiles in the world, and they were soon exterminated for their shells and flesh as the western hemisphere was explored and exploited.

Sea turtles are gentle reptiles that spend the majority of their lives in the ocean. Hawaii's popular green sea turtle, growing up to 45 inches and weighing as much as 200 to 400 pounds by the time it reaches maturity at the average age of 25 years, has a heart-shaped gray-brown shell and only the body-fat is green. The head is proportionally much smaller than that of other turtles, making the dark eyes appear even larger. Females reach reproductive age after 35 to 40 years, and only then return to the beach of their birth to lay their eggs for the next generation. Although a female may lay hundreds of eggs in one season, only a few of the hatchlings will survive to reach maturity. Hawaiian green turtles seem to grow very slowly in the wild and the life span of sea turtles is unknown.

In Chinese mythology, the sea turtle represents wisdom. In Hawaii, legend tells about a green sea turtle, Kauila, who could change herself into a girl to watch over the children playing at Punalu'u Beach on the Big Island. When Kauila's mother dug her nest, a fresh water spring surged upward, quenching the children's thirst. Kauila is the "mythical mother" of all turtles, and perhaps of our children as well. It's also said that turtles were the guides for the first voyagers to Hawaii.

There are three species of sea turtles native to the Hawaiian Islands: the Green, the Hawksbill, and the Leatherback. These fascinating creatures have played important roles in the environment and culture of Hawaii's people. Of the three native sea turtles, the Green Turtle (Honu) is the most common. These turtles are primarily vegetarians and eat algae or limu (Hawaiian seaweed) growing underwater on coral reefs and on rocks close to shore.