Loggerhead Sea Turtle

Photo: MARC MARTIN SOLA · CC BY-NC

Loggerhead turtles rest in the caverns and overhangs of Santa Carolina's fringing reef year-round, distinguishable from the site's green turtles by their broader, more rounded heads and heavily barnacled shells bearing the marks of long migrations across the Indian Ocean basin. Mozambique's northern coast, including Bazaruto, is one of the most important loggerhead nesting areas in the western Indian Ocean, with females returning to nest on outer island beaches between November and January. Their powerful jaws are adapted for crushing hard-shelled prey — molluscs, sea urchins, and crustaceans — a dietary specialisation that fills a unique ecological niche on the reef.