Hawksbills Turtles are one of the rarest Turtles in the wild today.
The Hawksbill Turtle today is now critically endangered. Their population has decline a massive 80% over the last century, and still continues to decline. It is thought that there are now only between a maximum of 20,000 and 23,000 female Hawksbill Turtles living in the wild today, while other estimates say that there are only 8,000 nesting female Hawksbill Turtles living in the wild today.
According to the WWF, the population of Hawksbill Turtles is hard to monitor, which explains why there are different estimations of their population.
Where Are Hawksbill Turtles Found?
Hawksbill Turtles are mainly found in oceans and coral reefs in the Southern Hemisphere. These animals are important for maintaining healthy coral reefs.
Hawksbill Turtles are found in tropical waters in the Southern hemisphere. They are found in places such as the Atlantic ocean, the Indian ocean and the Pacific ocean. They are not found in the Northern hemisphere in colder climates.
What Do Hawksbill Turtles Eat In The Wild?
The main thing that Hawksbill Turtles like to eat is sponges.
They also eat other small animals, such as Shrimps and Squid. Most of the food that Hawksbill Turtles come from is coral reefs. These cute Turtles provide an important service for coral reef ecosystems, because, when they eat things like sponges, they help provide access to the reef so that other small marine animals can eat - mostly fish.
What Are Threats To Hawksbill Turtles?
Sadly, Hawksbill Turtles are threatened with extinction because of the illegal wildlife trade. It is illegal to kill Hawksbill Turtles internationally, however, the trade in these animals is sadly popular in Japan - in Japan jewllery made from the shells of these Turtles is sold for people to buy on the black market.
In 2019, scientists found that the critically endangered Hawksbill Turtle trade was bigger than the scientists realized. This trade has been going on as far back as the Roman era, where the Romans also used to kill these Turtles and use their shells for jewellery. The historical persecuation of these animals has resulted in them becoming critically endangered today. However, these animals are at risk of extinction now because they are still persecuted for their shells.
The illegal wildlife trade is not the only threat to the existence of these animals, another huge threat to Hawksbill Turtles, is - bycatch.
Bycatch is when these animals are either tangled up in fishermen's nets, or hooks, or when the Turtles are accidentally captured by fishermen. The threat of bycatch is a serious threat to the existence of Hawksbill Turtles, because these little animals are usually killed in the process, which is something that is causing the serious decline of these Turtles.
What Can You Do To Help Hawksbill Turtles?
If you want to help Hawksbill Turtles, then there are several ways that you can help these beautiful animals.
Here are the way that you can help Hawksbill Turtles: