Sea Turtles

The following facts were obtained and paraphrazed from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services:The Endangered Species Program.

General Information

Sea Turtles are reptiles that live mostly in the water, but lay eggs on land. These cold-blooded animals can stay underwater for many hours when they are inactive. However, when they move around and are active, it is necessary to visit the surface of the water for a breathe of air.

Sea Turtle and the Endangered List

There are seven species of sea turtles:

• Green Sea Turtle
• Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle
• Olive Ridley Sea Turtle
• Hawksbill Sea Turtle
• Loggerhead Sea Turtle
• Leatherback Sea Turtle
• Flatback Sea Turtle

Six of the seven species of Sea Turtles are on the Endangered Species List. The Flatback Sea Turtle is the only species not on the list. To find out more information on the classification of Sea Turtles, visit The Sea Turtle Classification Page. Or find out more about each Sea Turtle Species.

Why are Sea Turtles on the Endangered List?

There are many reasons Sea Turtles are on the Endangered List:

• Harvesting of eggs for eating
• Killing Sea Turtles for the shell and/or skin
• Drowning of Sea Turtles in fishing nets
• Decline of nesting areas due to property development
• Pollution of oceans

Eating Habits

Sea Turtle species have different eating habits. Some are herbivores (plant-eaters), carnivores (meat-eaters), and omnivores (plant and meat-eaters). Sea Turtles have to use their jaws to eat, since they lack teeth.

Laying Eggs

The nesting season for Sea Turtles in the United States is between March and October. This is when females crawl onto land and dig a hole into the sand. Sea Turtles lay anywhere from 50 to 160 eggs while digging egg chambers with their rear flippers. The female Sea Turtle covers the nest with sand and returns to the ocean. It takes 50 to 70 days for the eggs to hatch. The baby Sea Turtles make their way to the ocean where they eventually hide in the floating seaweed (where the currents meet). Baby Sea Turtles hide in the floating seaweed for about a year until they are big enough to survive in open waters.

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The photographs on this page can be found at naturescapes, which was developed by Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson. See their Sea Turtle Photographs.

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