Friendly Hawksbill sea turtle begs for food from scuba diver

This is a critically endangered Hawksbill sea turtle that lives in the waters of Papua New Guinea. They are normally shy and reclusive creatures, preferring to avoid humans. They will swim away from most scuba divers and it is a rare treat to see one so close. But this young female was very curious about this scuba diver, particularly when he looked among the rocks and coral. Knowing that Hawksbills eat sponges and have a strong preference for the type that is yellow in colour, this diver dug some chunks out of the cracks between the rocks. The turtle caught on immediately that he had food that he was willing to share.

Like a puppy begging for a snack, the sea turtle looked at the diver pleadingly and then grabbed onto the sponge with her beak. She braced herself with her fins on his hands to break chunks off the sponge. As if she were a well trained dog, she took obvious care to avoid biting his fingers.

After the sponge was gone, the turtle was looking for more but the scuba diver did not have any. He showed her that his hands were empty but the turtle wanted to sniff and check carefully for herself. As she became more insistent, he petted her head and under her chin. She looked right into his eyes and followed his fingers, hoping for more.

The reef that is home for this sea turtle was formed long ago when molten lava was forced up from the sea floor through cracks in the earth's crust deep below the surface. The rocks cooled and hardened and eventually, coral began to grow here. The coral provided a home for fish of all kinds, crabs, lobsters, octopus, and the occasional sea turtles. Scuba divers who explore these reefs find an abundance of colour and fascinating creatures. It is a world of indescribable beauty and the sights are different each time scuba divers enter the water.