Turtle Talk

The Kemp's ridley is the smallest and most endangered sea turtle on Earth. With nearly all of its nesting happening on a single beach in Mexico, this tiny turtle's survival is one of the most dramatic conservation stories in the ocean world.

Most people who visit Oahu leave a piece of their heart with the honu. But there is another sea turtle in the Pacific with a story just as remarkable. The Olive Ridley is the world's most abundant sea turtle, and once a year, hundreds of thousands of them do something that no other animal on Earth does quite the same way.

Of all the places in the world where sea turtles swim, Hawaii is one of the very few where you can watch them haul themselves onto a beach and rest in the sun. Hawaiian green sea turtles, known as honu, regularly come ashore to bask — a behavior scientists have documented here more than almost anywhere else on the planet. Here is why they do it, what it means for their health, and where on Oahu you are most likely to see it for yourself.

Hawaii's green sea turtles face a hidden threat beneath the waves. Fibropapillomatosis is a mysterious tumor-causing disease linked to a herpesvirus and ocean pollution that has been affecting honu for decades. Here is what every ocean lover should know about this condition and why protecting Hawaii's coastal waters matters more than ever.

Most people are surprised to learn that sea turtles are far more mentally complex than they look. These ancient reptiles have been navigating the open ocean, learning from experience, and returning to the exact same beaches for millions of years. Here is a closer look at what science says about sea turtle intelligence and what it means when one of Hawaii's green sea turtles glides right up to you underwater.

Most people who snorkel at Turtle Canyon focus on the moment a sea turtle glides past them. That moment is real, and it is unforgettable. But here is what most visitors never think about: that turtle is not just drifting around looking graceful. It is working. Hawaii's green sea turtles, the honu, are active caretakers of the ocean around them. They graze algae off reef surfaces, cycle nutrients that feed coral, and help maintain the underwater world that makes snorkeling in Oahu so spectacular. This is the story of how one ancient animal keeps an ocean alive.