An Underwater Garden

Sea Turtles

There are at least seven species of sea turtles and all except the Australian flatback may be found in the coastal waters of the Americas.

All sea turtle species except loggerheads are endangered. Sadly, these endangered sea turtles may soon die out.

Sea turtles are larger than turtles that live on land. They swim by beating their flippers like a bird flaps its wings. Sea turtles cannot withdraw into their shell so they depend on their size and swimming speed for defense. Some sea turtles can swim as fast as 35 miles per hour.

Female sea turtles do not normally leave the water except to lay their eggs. The females often migrate thousands of miles to reach their breeding beaches. They drag themselves onto a sandy beach, bury their eggs, and then return to the sea. Female sea turtles are almost completely helpless while they are on land.

Most of the males never return to land after entering the sea as hatchlings.

Sea turtles face many dangers. People are the biggest threat to sea turtles. Some people accidentally drive on sea turtle nests, or people who fish for shrimp may accidentally catch sea turtles in their nets.