Kefalonia Wildlife - Turtles and Octopus (15 mins Director's Cut)

From a week in Kefalonia, off the West coast of Greece.
October 2023.
The loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) are native to Kefalonia, laying their eggs on several beaches, and spending much of their adult lives around the island.
Up to 300 adults are known to frequent the harbour in Argostoli, mostly because they scavenge for bycatch fish tossed out from the fishing boats.
The volunteer researchers from Wildlife Sense can be seen out every day, helping protect the sea turtles - they observe their feeding and interactions around the harbour; tag and measure adult turtles, and free them of any lines/hooks/damage; perform beach tidying and micro-plastic measurements; and most importantly they check and protect the nests, monitoring the eggs through the hatching period, and ensure as many hatchlings make their way to sea.
The SCUBA season ended the week before my arrival, so I went snorkelling instead. The clearest waters were found at Pessada beach, where I observed an octopus feeding - going from rock to rock and engulfing the rock with a tight seal (and turning blue in the process) - I can only presume it was prising/sucking its chosen food source from the rock.