Hawksbill turtles are important for coral reefs because they eat sponges that would otherwise grow too large and smother the coral. One turtle can eat hundreds of kilograms of sponge each year, keeping the reef healthy and balanced. Without turtles, Caribbean reefs would look very different.
Female hawksbills return to the exact beach where they were born to lay their own eggs — sometimes after travelling thousands of kilometres across the ocean. Scientists think they find their way back using the Earth's magnetic field as a kind of invisible map. Nobody is completely sure how, but they do it reliably every time.
On nesting beaches in Antigua, conservation volunteers patrol at night during the nesting season, counting and protecting nests. The turtles come ashore after dark and dig a hole in the sand to bury their clutch of around 130 eggs. After about two months, the babies hatch and make their way to the sea under the cover of darkness.
Hawksbill turtles can live for more than 50 years. They are considered critically endangered globally, which means their numbers have fallen a lot. Antigua takes their protection seriously — harming a turtle or its nest is against the law, and many local schools take part in beach-monitoring programmes.