General Grievous

General Grievous entered the Andaman Turtle Watch database with a bang! This impressive adult female hawksbill was first encountered by Sam Hunt at West of Eden in a magical social interaction with the well-known hawksbill, Gracie. The footage from this dive is stunning – showing Gracie and General Grievous foraging side by side on the reef, with moments where General Grievous even appears to chase little Gracie around. The size comparison between the two hawksbills is striking: Gracie, a tiny sub-adult, alongside the much larger and more mature-looking General Grievous, though we don’t believe she is yet full size.

This encounter was also significant because it was the first time a hawksbill has been recorded feeding on feather stars in the Andaman Turtle Watch database – the remains of her meal still clung around her beak during the interaction. Sam Hunt noted both her overall size and her prominent tail. While her tail is more extended than most hawksbills we’ve encountered, it does not extend far enough beyond the hind flippers to classify her as a male. Instead, it reflects her large body size rather than her gender.

General Grievous is another piece in the puzzle of understanding the movements, biology, and habitat use of sea turtles in the Andaman Sea. Every encounter like this helps build knowledge that can guide future conservation management strategies. We’ll be keeping our fingers crossed for another meeting with this stunning animal next season – and wondering whether she might be a future nester in the region or elsewhere.