Green sea turtles are cold blooded and the adults are two to four feet long. They can weigh up to 100 to 400 pounds which is almost the weight of an adult human being. The green sea turtle's shell is actually its skeleton. The green sea turtle cannot pull its head into its shell for protection from dangerous sea creatures.

When green sea turtles are eating, they stay under water for 5-10 minutes. When they are resting, they can stay under the water for 2 and a half hours without coming up for air. Young turtles are usually sleeping at the top of the surface of the water. One of the turtles' favorite food is sea grass and mangrove leaves. Some of the younger turtles like to eat jellyfish, algae, shrimp, and crustaceans.

Most of their egg laying happens in Hawaii at the French Frigate Shoals which is about 500 miles away from Honolulu. Nesting season at the French Frigate Shoals is from May to August. At night, the females dig pits on the sandy beach with their back flippers. They lay about 100 eggs and then they cover their pit. They leave the island and go back into the sea never returning to see their eggs. After the baby green sea turtles are about 6 months old, they start to eat algae and seaweed. When they reach the Hawaiian shores, they are about 2 years old and their carpaces (shells) are about 14 inches long. It is against the law to bother green sea turtles while they are nesting. Scientists hope to keep people away from the green sea turtles so that the green sea turtle population can grow large once again.

Green sea turtles are the most endangered of the Hawaiian sea creatures. They are killed because people take their shells to make jewelry and cosmetics holders. Green sea turtles are close to extinction because people keep taking them from their habitat and they are often eaten by Tiger sharks. What people don't realize is that if we keep killing the green sea turtles, there will soon be no green sea turtles in Hawaii. They will all be destroyed. Some people even keep the green sea turtles as pets.