Green Sea Turtle

Green Sea Turtle Facts

Description

The Green Sea Turtle is a fairly large species with a length of about 5 ½ feet and weighing up to 400 pounds. It has a hard shell on the outside that can be quite colorful on the top with shades of red and orange. It is believed that the colors of it will change throughout the course of each turtle’s life.

Distribution

You will find the Green Sea Turtle out there in the tropical and subtropical regions. Hawaii has one of the largest populations of them in the world. Other locations where they have been identified include Australia, Mexico, India, and Asia.

Behavior

They love to crawl up on the shore of the beach and spend time soaking up the sunlight. . They are deep divers too but have to come up every four or five minutes for air. Some wonder how it is that Green Sea Turtles down then? Generally it has to do with stress because at that point their natural mechanism to hold on to oxygen in the body doesn’t function properly.

Diet /Feeding

It is common for a Green Sea Turtle to migrate thousands of miles in search of food and nesting grounds. The eating habits of this turtle are quite interesting. As new hatchlings entering the water they are meat eaters. When they are about 3 years of age though they change to being vegetarians so they won’t be eating any type of meat in the water. They consume algae and sea grass which isn’t very filling so they consume large amounts of it every day.

Reproduction

Males will return to the location where they were born annually for the mating process. Even if this means they have to travel long distances. The females may have several breeding grounds that the go to so they don’t always end up in the same place every year. It is believed that the female Green Sea Turtle only mates every 2 to 4 years instead of annually.

The females dig nests in the sand to deposit their eggs in. She can lay from 100 to 200 very small eggs. She won’t remain with them until they hatch a couple of months later. Instead they fight their way out of the eggs and then go directly towards the water.

Conservation

It is estimated that an adult Green Sea Turtle can live to be up to 80 years old if the conditions are right. However, they happen to be on the Endangered Species list at this time. Efforts are in place to protect them and their eggs from being destroyed. Protecting their natural habitat is also something that is being worked on. Some locations that once killed the Green Sea Turtle now have thousands of them that they protect and that tourists come to see.

Human interaction

Humans are a huge threat to the Green Sea Turtle. First, it is normal in many regions to consume their meat. Large numbers of adults are killed annually for this purpose. Second, their eggs are considered to be a great source of food as well. Therefore it isn’t uncommon for these nesting areas to be deleted of hundreds of eggs for human consumption.

Many Green Sea Turtles in live in areas where fishing takes place on a large scale. Those that get caught in the fishing nets drown most of the time before they are discovered. Also, their natural habitat continues to be threatened due to humans moving into those beach areas. This is where the turtles would like to lay their eggs but it is hard to do so with humans around the area.