Green Sea Turtles essays

Green Sea Turtles essays One of the most fascinating creatures of the sea is the green sea turtle. Green sea turtles, Chelonia mydas, get their name from the color of their body fat, which is green from the algae they eat. The Hawaiian name is Honu. It is believed that green sea turtles are reptiles whose ancestors evolved on land and returned to sea about 150 million years ago. Their species is so ancient that they watched the dinosaurs become extinct. There were once millions of sea turtles world wide, But because of several reasons such as hunting, fishing, marine debris and coastal development, today there are fewer than 200,000 mature females remaining. The green sea turtle is listed as a threatened species and people need to get involved to make sure this beautiful species does not also become extinct. The green sea turtle is one of the largest of sea turtles. Adults can weigh an average of 400 pounds and are often found living near coral reefs and rocky shorelines. Adult sea turtles are herbivores and their diet consists mainly of algae and sea grasses. Juvenile turtles are carnivorous eating things like jellyfish, snails, sponges and seaweed. The life span of a sea turtle is unknown but Hawaiian sea turtles grow very slowly and may take ten to fifteen years to reach sexual maturity. The average age of sexual maturity is around twenty-five years. Although green sea turtles spend most of their lives in the ocean, adult females must return to land to lay their eggs every two to three years. It is believed that green sea turtles return to the same beach in which they were also born. Males accompany the females during this migration, which occurs in the late spring and mate with them off the shores of the nesting beaches. The most popular nesting beaches in Hawaii are on the French Frigate Shoals where it is estimated that 90% of the Hawaiian sea turtles mate and lay their eggs. This amazing journey can be over 600 miles. It is unknown how sea turt...