Some Sea Turtle Facts

Some sea turtle facts
Did you know that millions of years ago sea turtles were originally land animals that later on returned to a life at sea? Because they went from living on land to living at sea, these ancient creatures had to adapt their bodies to their ocean home. All sea turtles have a carapace and a plastron. The carapace is the shell while the plastron is the under part of the turtle. The carapace is made up of scutes or scale plates. Only the Leatherback does not have a hard shell.

Breathing:
Sea turtles are not fish so they must come to the surface to breathe air. Sea turtles have special lungs that don’t get damaged by the high under water pressure when they dive. Also, sea turtles store lots of oxygen in their blood and muscle. When they move their flippers, they pump that oxygen into their lungs. How long can you hold your breath?
Hawksbills – 45 minutes
Green turtles – 5 hours
Leatherbacks – 1 hour and 10 minutes

Swimming:
Sea turtles have flippers that work like the paddles of a row boat. They use their front flippers to move forward and upwards. Their back flippers help them to steer left or right and to dig a nest to lay their eggs.

Drinking:
Just as you need fresh water to survive, so do all animals. Sea turtles drink sea water but close to their eyes they have special organs called salt glands –like your tear ducts– that constantly pump the salt out of their body!

Of these seven species of sea turtles, three visit our beaches. These are: the Leatherback, the Hawksbill and the Green sea turtle. They nest on Simpsonbay, Guana Bay and Gibbs Bay. Only the females come onto land during the nesting season that starts in April and ends around December.

CONTINUE: Turtles Coming Ashore