Community Magazine January 2016

58 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE The Sea Turtle Sea turtles are air-breathing reptiles that are well suited to life in the sea. Their streamlined, hydrodynamic shape, large size, and powerful, paddle-like flippers allow them to dive to great depths and swim long distances. Their flippers are great for propelling them through the water; however, they make it difficult for the turtle to walk on land. A lthough sea turtles spend almost all their time in the sea, they always return to the same beach to breed, often traveling huge distances – hundreds, or even thousands, of miles – to get there. Amazingly, female sea turtles will often emerge from the water within just a few yards from wherever they nested the time before. After laying their eggs, the female sea turtles will bury them in their nests under the sand, leaving them to hatch on their own. When the baby sea turtles hatch, it may take them as long as a week to dig their way out of the nest. Once they are out, they walk straight into the ocean and begin their life at sea. Sea turtles are found in all of the major oceans and smaller seas, with the exception of the Arctic Circle, as it is generally too cold for sea turtles there; they prefer more temperate waters. There are seven species of sea turtles, and unfortunately, they are all listed as endangered species. The seven species of sea turtles are: the green sea turtle, the hawksbill, the flatback, the Kemp’s ridley turtle, the loggerhead, the leatherback, and the olive ridley turtle. Sea turtles range in size from about two feet to six feet long, depending on the species. The Kemp’s ridley turtle is the smallest sea turtle, weighing in at eighty-five to 100 pounds, and the leatherback sea turtle is the largest, weighing up to 2,000 pounds! The diet of the sea turtle depends on the species. Some sea turtles are carnivorous, others are herbivores, and some will eat almost anything. Sea turtles tend to eat sea grasses, shrimp, crabs, fish, and jellyfish, depending on what they can find and catch. Adult sea turtles have very few predators. As long as they can avoid large sharks and steer clear of human fishing nets, they can live for more than 80 years in the wild. EFRAIM HARARI