Loggerhead Sea Turtle

Scientific Name: Caretta caretta

 With a size of 250 pounds and 4 feet in length to them, the Loggerhead Sea Turtle is the largest one you will find out there. They are also considered to be the most lovely in their design and color. Their shell is heart shaped which many couples consider to be good luck when they see one. They have gorgeous colors too. The top of them have colors of red and brown. The bottom has yellow and all of this blends in nicely with the environment in which they live.

 They have a very large head and that is where they name stems from. You see the men that used to cut logs in the woods were very large men with large heads and that is who they are named after. In case you weren’t aware of this fact, it isn’t possible for any type of sea turtle to place their head inside of their shell. Therefore it isn’t a problem that their head is too large for the rest of their body right?
 
Like all sea turtles the Loggerhead has flippers both on the front and the back of their bodies. You will notice that on the front that they feature claws as well. They do use them to try to fight off some predators but that is often a losing battle. They mainly use them to dig in the sand.
 
As I mentioned they do have a very lovely shell. However, they also have the benefit of it being smooth and thick. It can prevent certain types of predators out there from trying to consume them. In fact, it is believed that the shape of it and the colors can confuse certain creatures out there so that they aren’t even interested in feeding on the Loggerhead Sea Turtle.

There is evidence to suggest that sea turtles have been around for more than 120 million years. However, what isn’t fully understood is how the evolution process for this species played out. The common theory for so many species of sea turtles is all about the same. This scenario involves them being able to develop flippers so that they could survive in the water instead of on land. They may have exchanged small limbs for them during the evolution process.
 
There could be more specifics to all of that but we simply don’t have enough information at this time to know for sure. In the future perhaps more details will be able to come to light. There have been some samples of DNA but that is just the tip of what could be out there to one day test.

The behaviors of the Loggerhead Sea Turtle aren’t spectacular but they are interesting to those that enjoy this type of animal. Many wonder why they end up drowning in nets and such when they can remain under water for hours with out coming up for air. Research indicates that they have a panic factor when they can’t freely move. As a result of that anxiety they end up needing more oxygen than normal.

They are very curious by nature and unfortunately that results in many of them dying at an early age. They will put what they find in the water or on land in their mouths and consume it. However, these things often don’t agree well with their bodies and can result in serious complications. For example they have been found with plastic materials and toxic chemicals in their bodies.

It is a common believe that the Loggerhead Sea Turtle only lives in salt water. However, that isn’t true. They will live in any warm bodies of water out there. This includes lakes, lagoons, and bays. They do need the warmer temperatures though which is why so many of them reside around the Bahamas and Mexico. They also migrate to find warm water and to find the breeding grounds.
 
In order to better understand when they migrate and how far, researchers have placed devices for tracking on many of them. This has allowed their routes and the way they get to their destinations and back again to be recorded. Such information has helped to prevent many boating accidents ands other problems during migrating season.

They are avid hunters and love to consume large quantities of food. Their diet consists of fish, shrimp, mollusks, and even jellyfish. They will consume any of these things that happen to come their way. They can spend many hours a day finding food, and even dive more than 1,000 times a day to get what they need to survive upon.

It may surprise you to learn that they don’t engage in the process of reproducing until they are about 35 years of age. This is much older than any other species of sea turtle out there. The fact that they don’t mate until so much later in life though also can be a problem when it comes to helping them increase their numbers.
 
The females take charge when it comes to the mates she will be with. Her process is to mate, to deposit eggs by going to shore, and then to come back and to mate with another male. She will do this as many times as she is able to before the mating season is over. Even though this process has been observed there isn’t any certainty about what it is that she will find in a male to choose to mate with him over the others.
 
Each batch of eggs that are deposited on the shore are left to their own fate. It can take a period of about two months before they start to emerge. Many of them don’t have the strength to get out of the shells though and so they die before their lives have really even started. Others become a source of food for other animals which we will discuss in the next section.

The eggs that are on the shore are quite appealing to many predators. Birds find them to be a great meal. So do crabs, raccoons, and even dogs in some of the locations. When the eggs hatch and the young are moving to the water all of these types of predators will find them to be a great meal in that particular form as well. Even those that do get to the water will find that there are sharks and large fish that want to consume them.
 
As if those natural predators weren’t enough, they also have problems that humans bring their way. Very large amounts of their eggs end up being taken in order for people in the villages to eat. They will also hunt the larger ones to have meat from and to make various items from. For example they will often make medicine from parts of the Loggerhead Sea Turtles.
 
Today there are some efforts in place though to help with the problem. For example protecting the eggs that are laid from humans and from animals can help more of them to successfully get into the water. Some conservation groups will actually go to the nesting grounds and help the young emerge from their eggs so that they don’t’ die.