Peanut

Peanut is one of the few turtles in the Andaman Turtle Watch database not originally identified and named by Big Blue staff. This sub-adult hawksbill was first reported to ATW by ณัฐพงษ์ นิลสวิท at Numchai Bay. The second sighting came from our very own Alex Rhodes, this time at North Point, another popular dive site around Similan Island 9. If you look closely, you’ll notice Peanut has a distinctive pattern on the dorsal head scutes – a great feature to help divers identify her when exploring around Similan Island 9.

At the moment, Peanut’s gender is still unknown. Sea turtles don’t develop clear visual differences between males and females (known as sexual dimorphism) until they reach maturity. For hawksbills, this typically happens around 25–35 years of age. Mature males can be identified by their large tails, which extend beyond the carapace and hind flippers. Females, on the other hand, have much smaller tails – sometimes extending slightly beyond the carapace in large adults, but never beyond the hind flippers. In Peanut’s case, we won’t be able to confidently determine their gender until they’ve grown up a little more!

Every new turtle added to the ATW database is another step toward understanding and protecting these endangered species. Thanks to the dedication of Big Blue staff and divers, turtles like Peanut are helping us build a clearer picture of life beneath the surface in the Similan Islands.