Teacher at the centre: Good morning everyone! We would like to welcome you to our Environmental Centre where you can learn about species, which are becoming extinct. We are talking about the sea turtle Careta-Careta and the monk seal Monachus-Monachus. Well! Let’s see. Southern Kefallonia and Zakynthos are among the few natural habitats for the protected loggerhead turtle Careta-Careta. Look at this slide. This is careta-careta! This sea turtle can reach 1 meter in diameter and can live up to 100 years.
Child: Oh!! Does it live so many years?
Teacher: Yes….that’s true…On the sandy beach of Lagana Bay you will find the National Sea Park, where up to 800 turtles each year lay their eggs during the summer months. Unfortunately, many of the baby turtles die on their way to the sea.
Children: How come? Why?
Teacher: At night, baby turtles try to reach the sea. The lights reflect on the sea, they attract them. You see, here is the problem. People have built a lot of hotels and discos near the beach and as a result the baby turtles go the wrong way and so they head for the lights of the hotels. Some of them never reach the sea…
Children: That’s awful!! What can we do?
Teacher: European and Greek Environmental laws protect this endangered species, so there are no water sports and no one is allowed on the beach after sunset. Our environmental centre helps, too. We organise educational tours to make people aware of the problem and protect the Careta-Careta.
Child: Are we going to see a baby turtle?
Teacher: Come in summer…Who knows, maybe you will be lucky enough to see or swim with one!!
Teacher: In this slide you can see the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus–monachus), which is one of the most endangered mammals in the world. Small population of monk seals inhabit our seas. These monk seals grow from around 80 cm to about 2.40 m in length and weigh up to 320 kg, with females slightly smaller than the males. Look! Their fur is brown or dark grey, with a paler belly.
Children: Oh!! They are so cute!!
Teacher: Yes, they are…beautiful! And you should know that the Mediterranean seal symbolises the health of the sea, as it can only live in clean, non-polluted waters.
Child: Why is it an endangered species?
Teacher: You see, this species faces a lot of threats: Fishermen kill them because they destroy their fishing nets. They also lose their habitat because of tourism; they get ill and die as a result of the toxic waste in the sea.
Children: Oh…(voices are fading…)