Pawikan / Hawksbill Turtle

The Tortoise is resilient and patient, slow but steady, minimalist and grounded, and it is beautiful.

Unfortunately, the Pawikan (Hawksbill sea turtle) is critically endangered. They reach maturity only after 30 – 35 years. They live solitary for most of their lives and only meet to mate. Adults’ only predators are humans, requiem and tiger sharks, and groupers. Nowadays, fisherman normally release them once caught in their nets. However, they are still hunted and have an ever-harder time to lay their eggs on beaches where much sand is washed out by the rising sea level and the wetting of their nests by fiercer storms and higher waves…

That is why we do all we can to safeguard Pawikans. We buy their eggs from neighbors and bury them @ Pawikan Bay in order to protect them from many land born predators including humans. What a delight to see them hatch 60 days later and to accompany them to their first dive into the Big Blue.