Sea Turtles of the World

Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas)
Size: 2.5 – 3 feet long
Weight: 300-400 pounds
Diet: sea grasses and algae

Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta)
Size: 2.5-3.5 feet long
Weight: up to 400 pounds
Diet: crustaceans

Leatherback Sea Turtle (Dennochelys coriacea)
Size: 4-8 feet long
Weight: 450-2000 pounds
Diet: jellyfish

Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle (Lepidochelys kempi)
Size: 2-2.5 feet long
Weight: 77-100 pounds
Diet: invertebrates

Flatback Seat Turtle (Natator depressus)
Size: 2-2.5 feet long
Weight: up to 150 pounds
Diet: sea cucumbers, jellyfish, prawns, and other invertebrates

Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea)
Size: 2.5-3 feet long
Weight: 77-100 pounds
Diet: fish and invertebrates

Hawksbill Sea Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricate)
Size: 2.5-3 feet long
Weight: 100-200 pounds
Diet: sponges

Did you know sea turtles…
* Can stay underwater for several hours without breathing when they are sleeping or resting?
* The Leatherback can dive to more than 3,000 feet?
* All species are listed as either threatened or endangered?
* Some species can swim up to 45 miles per hour?

Sea Turtle Babies
* Every year adult females return to the same beach to dig a hole in the sand and lay around 100 leathery eggs.
* The sex of the hatchlings is determined by the temperature of the nest.
* After 48-70 days, the hatchlings dig themselves out of the nests at night and make their way to the ocean.
* During the next several years, the young will stay at sea avoiding predators like sharks and fish.
* They will eat jellyfish, crabs, sponges, snails, worms and plants.

Why declining populations?
* The greatest cause for a decline in sea turtle populations is due to commercial harvesting of eggs and turtles for their meat, eggs and food. Turtle parts are used for leather and jewelry.
* Nesting habitats are being destroyed by beachfront development and artificial lighting. Artificial lights cause disorientation in adults and hatchlings.
* Marine garbage, like plastic bags, Styrofoam pieces, balloons, plastic pellets, and tar balls, are ingested by turtles which can lead to death.
* Sea turtles are also threatened by commercial fishing operations. They can become entrapped in fishing gear and drown.

What can be done to help?? You can help by …
* Recycling materials that can hurt sea turtles. This will help minimize pollutants and solid waste that can destroy the environment.
* Not buying sea turtle products.
* Encouraging your local government to establish parks and refuges for native animals.
* Encouraging coastal communities where sea turtles nest to enact and enforce lighting ordinances.
* Joining and supporting a sea turtle conservation program.
* Not disturbing nesting sites.
* Learning more about sea turtle conservation through educational programs.
* Celebrating events without the use of helium balloon releases.

To truly protect sea turtles around the world, several different countries and cultures must work together to share responsibility. International laws and agreements, research, organizations, and individuals must play a part in protecting sea turtles.

The life cycle of the turtle
During the mating season, female sea turtles usually migrate back to the same beaches where they themselves were hatched to reproduce and lay their eggs. Once a female reaches her destination, she pulls herself out of the water during an evening high tide to lay her eggs. This is done to avoid extreme heat and detection. The turtle then pulls herself up above the high watermark so that the next will not be threatened by flooding.

Once a female picks an area to lay her eggs, she uses her hind flippers to dig a hole in the sand. After the hole is deep enough, the turtle lays her ping pong ball sized, leathery eggs into the nest. The eggs are deposited two or three at a time. Each female may lay between 50 and 160 eggs per nest.

After the last egg is deposited in the nest, the rear flippers are again used to shovel sand back over the next while the front flippers are also used to throw sand over the area to help camouflage the nesting site. Once completed, the turtle makes her way back down the beach and returns to the water. This entire process may take as long as three hours to complete.

Once the females leave the nesting site, the eggs are left to survive on their own for the next 50 to 70 days. During this time, the growing embryos are incubated by heat from the surrounding sand. If the temperatures are warmer during certain stages of their development, the hatchlings will be female. Cooler temperatures can produce all male clutches.

Since the eggs are not guarded by the adults, the nests are vulnerable to numerous thieves. Egg robbers are responsible for destroying numerous nests every year. Though predators, such as birds, crabs, dogs and feral pigs are often noted for stealing eggs, humans are the main offenders.

If the embryos are fortunate enough to make it through the incubation period, they will break from their eggs and begin to dig toward the surface as a group. The young hatchlings will stop digging when they are able to feel the daytime heat through the sand. After several days of digging, the turtles will break through the sand’s surface at night. They immediately migrate towards the brightest horizon. Because of this, many communities along turtle nesting grounds have created laws to restrict the use of unnatural lighting. Without external lighting coming from the wrong direction, the new hatchlings should race to the water’s edge.

During this short trek from nest to water, the turtles face many dangers. Birds, crabs, dogs and other predators can easily take a young turtle. They are also in danger of dehydrating if their journey leads them astray.

Once in the water, these young turtles face new problems. Fish, sharks, and birds are often responsible for taking some of the hatchlings. Once at sea, much is yet to be learned about these young turtles. Though little is known about the early years of a sea turtle’s life, most experts believe that they spend their time in giant masses of floating seaweed which can be found in areas where ocean currents meet. There, the young turtles can find protection and food. Though a turtle has many more possible obstacles to overcome in its lifetime, the greatest odds have been overcome at this point. Some say that only one in every 1000 turtle hatchlings survive to be adults and reproduce themselves.