Whitsunday Marine Life

Green Turtles

The entire Great Barrier Reef and the Whitsundays is an important breeding and feeding area for turtles which nest locally. It is the home of the biggest Green Turtle population in the world. Green turtles live in seaweed-rich coral reefs and feed mostly on seaweeds and mangrove fruits.

Great Barrier Reef has 13 major rookeries and nesting occurs between late November and January. It takes a female green turtle 30-40 years to reach maturity. Although the green turtle population is recovering, they are still threatened by hunting, boat strikes and drowning in crab pots. Their biggest threat is the discarded plastic debris that is mistakenly swallowed causing blockages of the stomach and intestines. Sea turtles, especially green turtles, are known to bask at the water's surface and are sometimes slow to react to approaching vessels.

World's Largest Coral Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is blessed with the breathtaking beauty of the world's largest coral reef. The reef contains an abundance of marine life and comprises of over 3000 individual reef systems and coral cays. A closer encounter with the Great Barrier Reef's impressive coral gardens reveals many astounding underwater attractions including the world's largest collection of corals (in fact, more than 400 different kinds of coral, some are: coral sponges / mollusks / branching / plate / table / vase / bushy and solitary.

Humpback Whales

The Great Barrier Reef is a breeding area for humpback whales, migrating from the Antarctic each year. Summer is spent in the cold waters of Antarctica, where they feed on enormous quantities of the prawn-like krill. In autumn, as the temperature falls and ice begins to form on the sea surface, the whales begin their northward migration to tropical waters to give birth and to mate before returning to Antarctic waters at the end of spring. Whales are most likely to be seen in the Whitsundays and Great Barrier Reef between June and October.