Life Cycle of a Sea Turtle by Kaitlyn Sudol

Hatchlings

ksud6929 — 2016-07-27 22:14:21 UTC

After an adult female sea turtle nests, she returns to the sea.
The turtle's gender is determined by the temperature within the nest.
After 45 to 70 days, the hatchlings begin to break out of their eggs, using a small temporary tooth located on their snout called a caruncle.
Once they begin their journey, they use cues to find the water including the white crests of the waves, and the natural light of the ocean horizon.
The turtles wait until nightfall to enter the ocean, to prevent dealing with predators.
If the hatchlings successfully make it down the beach and reach the surf, they begin what is called a “swimming frenzy”, which allows them to get far enough in the ocean away from predators.
Once in the ocean, they are picked up by the Gulf Stream and become part of this "floating nursery" where they will spend at least a year rafting with the seaweed, eating bite-sized, floating prey.

ksud6929 — 2016-07-27 22:15:43 UTC

Sea turtles are now the size of a dinner plate.
After around 10 years, they will return to coastal waters.
In the coastal waters the sea turtles will continue to grow into adulthood.
Sea turtles will eat plant leaves and stems while living in the coastal waters.
The gender of a juvenile sea turtle cannot be determined by external characteristics.
Once they are mature however, male sea turtles have a much thicker, longer tail than females.

ksud6929 — 2016-07-27 22:16:04 UTC

Once a spot has been chosen, the female carefully and methodically digs a nest with her rear flippers in which she will lay as many as 100 or more ping-pong ball sized eggs.
After the turtle lays eggs, she will cover and disguise the nest before returning to the water.
After nesting the females will return to foraging grounds (coastal waters), not nesting again for 2 to 3 years.
Sea turtles mature between 7 and 50 years.
Sea turtles will leave coastal areas and migrate hundreds or even thousands of miles to breeding areas where they will mate and begin the reproductive stage of their lives.
Only females come ashore to lay eggs, usually near the area where they hatched perhaps two or more decades earlier.

ksud6929 — 2016-07-27 22:16:31 UTC

"Sea Turtle Conservation Travel." Sea Turtle Conservation Travel. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.