Raine & Horne Foundation have proudly supported the Great Barrier Reef Foundation to strengthen their research at Raine Island. Raine Island was named after Captain Thomas Raine (pictured above), who was the first European to discover the island in 1815 and whose son Tom Raine co-founded Raine & Horne in 1883. Raine Island is the rookery for the world’s largest remaining population of the vulnerable green turtles, the Chelonia mydas. During the annual breeding season, around 2,000 female turtles will nest ashore each night, totalling 60,000 across the season. Each of the turtles that return for breeding each year were born on the island, at least 50 years before. They are guided back to Raine Island to breed by a natural homing instinct. Many turtles will have travelled from as far as 2,500 kilometres to get there. Great Barrier Reef Raine Island The turtles lay between 75 to 200 eggs in a pit they dig in the sand. The turtles must return to the water before sunrise, as the heat of the day can kill a stranded turtle. Once in the water, the turtles face the risk of waiting tiger sharks. Their shells help to camouflage them, and they can swim about 32 kilometres an hour, which means a healthy turtle can out swim a shark. The eggs will hatch in two to three months at night when the temperature drops. Once the eggs hatch, instinct tells them to head towards the reflective light of the ocean. Their only defence is the darkness and safety in numbers. Some hatchlings will emerge before sunset and become easy pickings for the herons. However the numbers are still on the turtle’s side and many will safely depart from Raine Island and return in decades to come. This partnership means we can help the Great Barrier Reef Foundation’s conservation efforts on Raine Island to protect the future of the green turtles.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTI3ODI1