Sea turtle

Sea Turtles

Sea turtles, also called marine turtles, are special reptiles that live in the ocean. They are part of a group called Testudines. There are seven kinds of sea turtles: the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, Kemp's ridley, and olive ridley.

Sea turtles live in all oceans except near the poles. The flatback sea turtle is only found along the northern coast of Australia. These turtles usually stay near the edges of continents in shallow water. In their early years, they float among seaweed in the open ocean. As they grow older, they move closer to shore.

When a female turtle is ready to lay eggs, she comes onto the beach at night. She digs a hole in the sand with her flippers, puts eggs into the hole, and covers it with sand. The eggs take about 50 to 60 days to hatch. Baby turtles dig their way out of the sand and go straight into the sea.

Sea turtles eat both plants and animals. Some turtles eat small sea creatures and seaweed. Green sea turtles mostly eat sea grass when they are older. Leatherbacks eat jellyfish.

People have hunted sea turtles for food and their shells in the past. Now, many places work to protect sea turtles. For example, in Tortuguero, Costa Rica, people visit to see the turtles instead of hunting them. This helps keep turtle populations safe. Many sea turtle species are in danger because of things like fishing nets and plastic in the ocean. People are working hard to protect them.