DID YOU KNOW? The Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle, The HONU (pronounced ho new) is the "Ancient of the Ocean" and survived even the Ice Age.
Hawaiian legends tell a tale of Kau'i'la (cow ih la) who is a mystical sea turtle and a daughter born to two supernatural sea turtles in Hawaii. Kauila watched over the children playing on Punalu'u Beach (her home) on the Big Island (the island of Hawaii). She would sometimes turn herself into a little girl so she could play with the other children on the Black sandy beach. She would frolick in the fresh water pond and blow bubbles to the children's delight, but mainly would be there to watch over the children.
Our Honu is on the endangered species list because 90% of the Honu have a the virus "Fibropapillomatosis' and it causes fibroid tumors in the neck, throat, eyes, mouth and eventually eat the Honu from the inside out.
Please be aware that there are laws here that are enforced to protect our Honu:
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No Harassing
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No Harming
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No Killing
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No keeping sea turtles in captivity without a permit (educational or research)
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Divers are NOT to ride turtles. It is ILLEGAL because it puts the animals under stress
For more info on Endangered Species of Hawaii and Organizations that Protect them:
Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman is a Realtor-Associate® and Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) with Century 21 Liberty Homes in Mililani, Hawaii. With a sharp understanding that a listening ear is the key to a client's needs she serves the island of Oahu (Honolulu County) and all Hawaii Military Relocations, Hawaii Retirees, Hawaii Job Transfers and Hawaii Residents, Home Buyers and Sellers.
© 2007-2012 Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman's Hawaii Real Estate and Relocation Blog.
All rights reserved.
What an amazing creature. Thanks for sharing today from the beautiful state of Hawaii.
David: The Honu is really an amazing creature and now we play the role of Kauila and watch over them :)
William: I love our Honu... three years ago The MURDER of "Honey Girl" was top on the news as she was brutally murdered. An part of the post I wrote back then..... "She was literally slaughtered with her head and shell cut off, she was missing a flipper, her flesh removed and found partially buried in the sand". why somone would do that is beyond me.
She freqauented the same beach I took the picture of the honu in my post.
Sally what a horrid thing to have happen to the Turtles, and to "Honey Girl". Turtles are such an ancient species and in many beliefs have the beginning of the world etched on their shell backs. Magical in my opinion. I will be in Honolulu on teh 26th of this month to visit my daughter and granddaughter and am hoping to see some of them. My granddaughter told me last night there is a place to go to do this. I am excited to be there and I get to be there for 10 days.
Sally, I was off the coast of Florida fishing off a huge pier a few years ago. I caught a huge fish so I thought. It turned out to be a beautiful and rare sea turtle. I could see him swimming through the crystal blue waters and I panicked and cried. I didn't think he would ever get loose. I didn't want to hurt him and I ran the pier trying to give him the slack in the line. Finally, with grace, he was unhooked. I thought I would die. I felt so bad.
They are beautiful creatures. Hope you had a great birthday!
Deb
Sally,
What I enjoy so much is that everything in Hawaii is somehow a legend, a myth, a fairy tale. This is wonderful
Hi Sally,
Thanks for sharing, very interesting facts.
This is a good post for people that are thinking of visiting Hawaii.
Happy blogging!
Sally
Thanks for sharing the photo's and video on the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles.
Good luck and success.
Lou Ludwig
Aloha Sally, they are amazing creatures, aren't they? They always seem like they beat to their own drum just swimming around and sitting along the shore line. Never seen one feed, I had no idea how that happens.
Btw, love your beautiful shot of black sand beach, been there a few times myself.
HI Sally,
One of the many things to enjoy and appreciate about our Rain Community is people like yourself sharing stories about the culture, history and communities of which we are part of, The Hawaiian Green Turtle has a very special story to tell and we are glad you shared it with us.
Hi Sally,
Thanks for the interesting facts about the Honu turtle. I enjoyed watching the video and pictures. Thanks for sharing.
Sally - The only turtles I get to see around here are little snapper turtles. The Honu is an amazing species and it is so sad to hear that such beautiful animals are subject to such a horrible disease. I hope that someday a cure can be found to stop this disease from eliminating them even further.
I love sea turtles and I'm so sad to hear that the honu or experiencing such a horrible fate. I hope someone can come up with a way to save them.
Hi Sally--I love coming across one of these magnificent turtles on the beach. We always give them a wide berth. I had no idea about their history or this virus that is attacking them. It would such a loss to Hawaii to lose them.
I love this Honu post. It is a great reminder of how gentle and fragile these natures are, we have to really be aware of preserve the beauty in this world.
I think I'll go down to the North Shore and see if they're still around...
Sally - thank you for sharing some of the history and heritage of Hawaii with us ..... Active rain is like our own personal tour guides we get to visit and learn much about the various communities through the posts of members like yourself.
Hi Sally,
I love turtles and the pictures are spectacular. So sorry to hear about the virus but I am sure the scientist are working hard to find a cure.
Sally - Sea turtles are such an important part of our world...........here they are often taken to local aquariums for medical care, recovery and then a trip back to the open waters of the gulf.