Do you know that sea turtles are the most ancient inhabitants of our planet? It was their distant ancestors who saw dinosaurs and were eyewitnesses to global warming and changes in climatic conditions on Earth. They are funny and interesting. Watching the behavior of these marine life is fascinating. We offer to learn more about them.
It is interesting
Each turtle has its own house, which is always and under any circumstances nearby. The shell or body of the turtle has a rounded shape. Unlike freshwater, sea turtles cannot hide their legs and head in a shell.
The lifespan of these creatures is about 80 years. The largest sea turtle can weigh about a ton, its size sometimes reaches 2 meters.
They swim across all the seas and oceans, where there are warm currents. The most interesting thing is that the turtle does not equip the nest where it lives and eats. Usually she needs to swim several thousand kilometers to lay eggs.
Are you curious about what a turtle living in the sea eats? Nutrition depends on which subspecies it is. But at the same time, all sea turtles love to enjoy jellyfish, snails, shrimps, crabs and shellfish. As you can see, these creatures are foodies. Also on the menu of the sea turtle there are algae.
Reproduction and the first steps of small turtles
It is difficult to say exactly (and even approximately) how many sea turtles are today. This is because only females crawl ashore to lay eggs. An interesting fact is that the female will nest in the same place where she was born. With the help of paws, she first digs a hole, and then lays eggs in it. It will be very difficult for her children to crawl out of the ground. But males on the mainland are only once: when they are born and then crawl towards the water.
The path of a small turtle after it hatched from an egg is long and dangerous. Her shell is not yet strong enough to protect against enemies. Yes, and it’s still difficult to sort out her paws. Many just born sea turtles never get to the water. If it is not eaten during the trip, it may burn in the sun.
There is not much information about the mating of turtles living in the sea. Watching their life under water is difficult. It is known that they mate from spring to mid-autumn. Sea turtles hatched their offspring for about one and a half to two and a half months. For one pregnancy, each lays about 150 eggs.
Turtles threatened with extinction
Global warming is very scary for turtles. Today, the question has been raised about how to protect them from extinction. The fact is that it is temperature that affects whether a female or male is born. If the temperature in Celsius is above 30 degrees, then a female will be born. Due to global warming, it is likely that males will not be born at all.
In addition to fever, sea turtles are also threatened by rising water levels on the planet. Storms, storms, tides destroy nests with eggs.
And people, even realizing that their descendants may never see a living sea turtle, continue to exterminate these creatures. Shell on the black market is very expensive. Poaching fishermen, catching turtles, take away only the shell, and destroy the turtle.
I am glad that the extermination of turtles is prohibited throughout the world. Violators and poachers will face serious punishment. Although, as it turns out in reality, even severe punishments and prohibitions do not stop the tortoise hunters ...