Name: Loggerhead Turtle

Scientific Name: Caretta caretta

Description: The Loggerhead Turtle has a large head. This, however, does not mean that this has a large brain inside. Instead, the skull houses the muscles for the jaws! The loggerhead turtle is a basic brown and green, but the green is a dark shade. This sea turtle has very powerful jaws. He can even crush hard shells!

Length: The Loggerhead Turtle can reach 30 to 40 inches!

Where it lives: The Loggerhead Turtle lives in Indian Ocean waters.

Does it live in a group or pack? No, the Loggerhead Turtle lives on it's own!

Reproduction: The eggs of the Loggerhead Turtle are approximately 40-42 millimeters in diameter. The eggs are laid in the flood of spring tides! The eggs are placed in a nest, which is usually chosen in an undisturbed area. The female comes up on shore and digs with her snout to make a shallow hole. The eggs are laid in this shallow hole. The eggs usually hatch at the same time! Only 120 eggs are laid per nest. 3-4 nests are made per year, per female.

Diet: The Loggerhead Turtle is carnivorous. They eat sponges, jellyfish, horseshoe crabs, clams, and oysters. As I mentioned earlier, they can crush hard shells with the powerful jaws.

Why is it Endangered? The Loggerhead Turtle is endangered because of local explotation, incidental capture in shrimp nets, habitats lost due to coastal development, and many, many storms. The Loggerhead's population decreases three percent each year.