The Hawksbill Sea Turtle

This horizontal nature survey depicts a mature Hawksbill Sea Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) swimming gracefully beside a delicate, tubular sea sponge formation along a shallow coral reef track. The artwork highlights the specific marine habitats of the Comoros, particularly around the nesting grounds of Mohéli and Mayotte, where these reptiles feed almost exclusively on reef sponges. Released as part of a coordinated effort by the French colonial ministry to showcase the natural wonders of its territories, this issue captured the fragile beauty of the islands' fringing reefs, serving as an early archival record of an iconic species that would later become a focal point for international marine conservation and ecotourism initiatives in the Western Indian Ocean.