Sea turtles have been plying global waters for more than 200 million years. Not much about them has changed during that time except for the fact that in the last 100 years they have increasingly been detrimentally affected by human habitation. They face the loss of their nesting sites, their eggs are harvested by humans as a delicacy and are often killed because they get tangled in the gear of the commercial fisherman.
Hawksbill Sea Turtles
Hawksbill sea turtles make their home amidst the coral reefs. Coral reefs themselves are in danger, so it only stands to reason that this turtle species is endangered as well. Their shells are coveted for their high commercial value. They are an average size turtle species that weighs less than 180 pounds. The beak of a Hawksbill can be compared to that of a bird of prey in that its upper jaw is hooked, while other sea turtles have a mouth that is more rounded. Their diet consists mainly of sea sponges that also make their home in the coral reefs. The juveniles of this turtle species can be found in the waters of Texas and have been known to nest among the vegetation of the southeastern shores of Florida.
Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle
This turtle species is the smallest sea turtle with a maximum weight of nearly 110 pounds. The shells of these turtles are as long as they are wide and the male can be distinguished by his overly long tail. Their front legs are paddle-like in appearance and have a claw on each of their flippers.
Kemp's ridley sea turtles don't mature until the reach the ages of 11 or 12 years. They will nest as many as three times in a single year laying approximately 100 eggs in each nest. It is quite a sight to behold to see literally thousands of female Kemp's ridley sea turtles emerge together from the waters of the ocean in concert to lay their eggs.
They hug the shorelines to ply the ocean floor of organisms and will eat crab, fish, shrimp and mollusks. They are also known to eat vegetation as well. Like other species of turtles, Kemp's ridley sea turtles find themselves in danger because they often are caught in the gear used for commercial fishing and their eggs are harvested for consumption by humans.
Olive Ridley Sea Turtles
This turtle species gets their name from the color of their shells. Their shells are flat with sloping sides in an olive color. This turtle species is on the smaller side weighing in at under 100 pounds. Their main source of food is tunicates, lobsters, and jellyfish for those that live in the waters of the eastern Pacific and western Atlantic Oceans. Olive ridley sea turtles that live in other parts of the world feed mainly on algae.
Like their sister/brother turtle species Kemp's ridley, they too arrive at nesting sites in the thousands. The Spanish call this "arribadas" which means the arrived. If humans don't change their ways, these precious turtle species will be lost forever.
Pet Turtle Care Tip #1
Turtles are members of the Reptile family and they are some of the oldest living creatures on the planet. They have been around for more than two hundred million years. This makes them as old as the dinosaurs. There are hundreds of different kinds of turtles all over the planet.
Pet Turtle Care Tip #2
Sea turtles are the most popular of all of the turtles. These are also some of the largest creatures—some sea turtles can grow to more than six feet in length and weigh hundreds of pounds. Scientists think that sea turtles are actually land creatures that went back into the water and never came out. Over time their limbs evolved to make them stronger swimmers and to keep them in the water: their front appendages are actually flippers.
Pet Turtle Care Tip #3
All turtles, even sea turtles, are air breathing creatures. While some turtles can stay under the water for hours at a time, they all must surface at least once a day to stay alive. There is one turtle, the giant turtle that only has to surface once a day to take in air. There are some studies being done to see if some species of turtle might be able to draw oxygen from their cells much like some fish use their gills to breathe.
