Sea turtles are endangered and some species are even critically endangered. Their survival depends a lot on our actions as human. Spread around the following messages, to educate people and help everyone to act more responsibly around sea turtles. This will help to ensure that more turtles can survive. Sea turtles are adorable, and they are crucial for our environment and the balance of the ecosystem.
If you spot a nesting sea turtle, remain quiet and do not disturb or scare her. The unfinished nesting puts the female under danger, as well as dooms all the eggs, since they will not be properly covered. Females mostly nest at night. Avoid using flashlights or any other bright lights.
While living on an island where sea turtles nest vastly on the sandy beaches, a camp-fire can become a real danger to the unborn sea turtles. From the heat of the fire, the eggs under the sand will warm up and be destroyed.
If you want to show your care for sea turtles, petting them won’t do it. Observe them for a distance and respect their freedom and space.
Touching sea turtles poses a risk to you and to the sea turtle. An adult sea turtle’s jaws are powerful enough to bite your fingers off. They can become aggressive if they are feeling threatened. In addition, sea turtles might bite you by accident, if you are between them and their food.
The bacteria and fungi on their carapace are sensitive to sunscreen found on your skin. Touching them, can leave some of the sunscreen on them, killing these micro-organisms, which are critical for the health of the turtles.
There are seven species of sea turtles: the Green, Loggerhead, Kemp’s Ridley, Olive Ridley, Hawksbill, Flatback, and Leatherback. Most of them are endangered, with some (such as Hawksbill) being critically endangered. Apart from Flatbacks, who are found only in the waters around Australia, all six sea turtle species are found in every ocean except the Antarctic.
Most sea turtle species live between 35 to 80 years. Some individuals, however, may exceed 200 years. Green sea turtles tend to have the longest average lifespan of 80 years. Hawksbill and the Flatbacks tend to live around 35+ years.
Leatherback turtles were around while dinosaurs were still alive. The fossils of the oldest known sea turtle date back around 150 million years. Dinosaurs became extinct around 65 million years ago. That means they were swimming in our oceans while T.Rex was running around on land.
Leatherbacks are the largest of all sea turtle species. They grow to around 1.2 to 1.9m (3.9-6.2 feet) and weight from 200 to 500kb (441 to 1,100 pounds). The biggest Leatherback found weighted 916 kg (2,019 pounds).
Leatherbacks are also the only sea turtle that doesn’t have a hard shell. Their carapace is rubbery to touch and is somewhat flexible. Hence, is their name – leatherback.
Photo by Kostas Papafitsoros
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.