Sea Turtles--The Gentle Giant of the Ocean

Sea turtles are ancient...I mean really ancient. They are the oldest existing reptiles whose origins date back 180 million years. That means they were hanging out here on planet earth before most dinosaurs were around.

Sea turtles are cold-blooded like all other turtles and draw air through their nostrils, lay eggs and usually live in its tropical or subtropical oceans.

The adult weight of a sea turtle varies between 88 and.430 pounds, which makes them 'big boys' in the turtle world.

It is believed that females return to spawn at the beach where they were born.

Using her back flippers the female turtle digs in the sand and lays about 100 eggs or more depending on the species.

After spawning, she returns to the sea.  The eggs hatch sometime around  50 to 70 days. Generally, the hatchlings emerge during the night. To get to the water they are guided by the reflection of the moon  on the water and therefore any presence of lights on the beach can confuse the young hatchlings resulting in their death as they loose their way to the sea.

Once they are at sea, the turtles face many predators. It is believed that only one in 1000 hatchlings will survive and eventually reproduce.

• The Leatherback Turtle is king of the sea turtles in terms of size. In fact, it is also the 4rth biggest reptile in the world, being beaten only by 3 species of  crocodiles.It is called the Leatherback because it lacks the hard shell of many other turtles, having an oily skin of multiple layers instead.
  

In addition this fellow has longer flippers than other turtles and when grown,can weigh as much as 2,000 pounds and grow to an amazing 8 feet long.

• The Hawksbill Sea Turtle is unique having a heart shaped shell on its body. As the turtle ages that heart shape will change and the shell lengthens. The small head is tapered and it's mouth resembles a bird's beak, hence the name. the Hawsbill has two pairs of scales running along the front of their bodies.

This gentle reptile has small claws on their front flippers and is not so big as the Leatherback that has an overall size of less than three feet and weighs no more than 300 pounds...a real 'lite-weight'!

• The Green Sea Turtle is somewhere in the middle of all sea turtles in terms of size being about 5 and one half feet long and weighing up to 400 pounds.It's hard shell gives it some protection from predators and it can be very colorful on top with shades of red and orange in it's makeup.
• The Loggerhead is aptly named, owing to the extra large head this fellow sports. However the rest of his body is not all the big, sea turtle-wise that is. The overall body is shaped very similar to a heart and the shell is red and brown on top, then yellow and brown on the bottom. The Loggerhead can grow up to 250 pounds and close to four feet in length.

See turtles the world over have been impacted by factors which have reduced their populations significantly. For this reason they have been listed as threatened or or endangered.

In Puerto Rico for example one of the leading causes of death is illegal hunting. Many turtles are harpooned or caught in fisherman's nets. This practice is carried out in order to eat their meat or to sell their shelves for crafts.

The pollution of the seas and beaches destroys the habitat and nesting sites of the sea turtle.

Such things as plastic bags, nets, ropes and chemicals dumped in the sea represent a threat for these animals. It goes without saying that an oil spill such as the one which occurred recently in the Gulf of Mexico, can do untold damage to the population of sea turtles. Project rescue rehabilitation work focuses its efforts on increasing the chances of survival of sea turtles that have been found sick or injured.

After being rehabilitated the turtles are returned to the sea.

The survival of sea turtles is everyone's responsibility, it is our duty to protect them from extinction. Here are some tips:

If you drive a boat: when you detect the presence of turtles to a minimum so that you do not generate large waves. and never dispose of motor oil in the water.

If you dive if: look, but do not touch the turtles. Take pictures if you want but do not approach the animal deliberately and do not lurk too long.

If you are fishing: do not discard your fishing line or plastic in the water. The turtles are injured by discarded fishing equipment. These eventually lead to their deaths once consumed. If you have fishing nets check every hour to ensure that no turtles have been caught in the net's. If you leave your nets on the sand to dry during the day pick them up before evening last the turtles become entangled in them.

When you are at the beach: bring back every plastic item that you find as these are harmful to marine life: bags, balloons, bottles of soda or beer, suntan lotion bottles, plastic plates, utensils and anything else that you think might be mistakenly consumed by a sea turtle.

If you visit a seafood restaurant: do not order turtle meat as this encourages the hunting of these large gentle reptiles.

When Christopher Columbus discovered the New World he discovered also that there were thousands of green turtles in the Caribbean and today there are very few.

Their numbers were quickly reduced by individuals over time such as Columbus and other explorers traders, settlers and of course pirates, who followed in his trail, and who realized that the species had a an excellent flavor that made them a delicacy on the dinner table.

This is a situation which continues to this day, where the turtle is dish on a menu, instead of being what it should be, a peaceful gentle giant of the ocean.