Raine Island

One of the most restricted Islands in the world, it is also one of the most crowded. Only 1km across it plays host to thousands of turtels, caspian turns, frigate birds and red tailed tropic birds. This small island is quite possibly the most fragile island on Earth, yet still incredibly important.



The island also plays host to 26,000 record breaking Green Turtles, that painfully crawl ashore once a year to lay their eggs on the beaches of Raine Island. For the turtle mother, the ardous operation has only just begun, Thousands of turtles criss cross the beaches, and there are quite simply, too many turtles for the beach. They slowly begin the process of digging, spending many hours trying to find a section of sand that is perfectly moist. Once the eggs are laid, they start to flick the sand back into the nest holes to incubate their newly born eggs. With the dawn all the Green Turtles lethargically drag themselves back into the sea, before the arid heat of the sun dehydrates them, and literally cooks them alive. Rocks exposed at low tide make this ardous process even harder for the turtles. For the unlucky few that dont make it back in time, it is the last journey they ever take. Some lucky turtles that make the journey too late, find rock pools to cool down their body temperature and wait it out until the tide rises again.

















For the turtles this is a second chance, but it doesnt come easily, once they have refloated they have a vicious predator to deal with, the Tiger Shark. The Tiger Shark somehow knows this event has been occuring on Raine Island, and picks the perfect moment to strike, but the Turtles are nimble for their size and can evade the Tiger Sharks by turning their bodies in such a way that they become too large for the sharks to bite down on. Remember the turtles that didnt make it off the beach? With the rise of the tide these are washed ashore and the sharks have an easy, already dead meal. This hunting of the dead is the largest gathering of Tiger sharks in the world.





Hope you enjoyed this natural wonder as much as I do.

Thanks for reading.

reply to post by Dionisius


I did!

Thank you for this wonderful thread..

Love how beautiful the water looks...

S&F for you!

nice thread not about insanity or violence a good change anyways i love turtles and to see them doing good warms my heart. that island is small but beautiful just like your pic