

Toward the end of a hike along the coast, I came across this turtle feeding in a shallow tidal area. There was good grazing to be had, but the problem was that the ledge was continually swept by incoming waves.
The turtle would swim in and access the ledge from the shore side (on the right in the top photo). Then he lumped forward to where the good grazing was and buried his head in it.
Waves would surge in and sluice over him (below). Sometimes, the receding wave had enough oomph that it would wash the turtle over the front edge of the ledge. Then he’d swim around and start over again.


What a fantastic sighting.
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I often see turtles in the shallows and it’s funny how they can resemble bumper (dodgem) cars the way they bump around among the rocks. I wrote about my favorite in this regard in this post: https://grahamsisland.com/2017/05/20/turtle-on-the-rocks/.
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Dodgem cars is a good description (and bumper cars seems to be a more accurate name than dodgem, which is the name used here in SA). Thanks also for the link. Glad the turtles make it back to the water.
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I’ve always known them as bumper cars, but I think some places call them dodgems. Certainly, ‘bumper’ more accurately describes what most drivers are up to.
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Here they are called dodgems, something I have always found puzzling. I will call them bumper cars henceforth 🙂
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Such amazing shots, Graham! Turtles are magnificent creatures!
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They really are. Clumsy looking on land, but so graceful in the water.
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What a marvelous experience that must of been! I really enjoyed the photos.
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Thanks. It’s always fun to watch the turtles, in the water or ashore.
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I can only imagine!
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