So, I have been reading about Sea Turtles, and am quite impressed with them as animals, and as examples of productive " lifespan" creatures. Did you know that some occasional tortoises on land have been reported to live more than 100 years? And, the life span of sea turtles is long as well: an exact number is not known, but sexual maturity may not be reached until fifty years of age!
Take a look at this website: Life Cycle of Sea Turtles .
To understand the nesting behavior a little better, just go to You Tube and look for the sea turtle nesting video!
Here is the link:o understand the nesting behavior a little better, just go to You Tube and look for the sea turtle nesting video!
Here is the link:
Once they are mature enough to actually swim in the sea, these sea turtles enter a "juvenile" phase, and are mostly at sea for the rest of their lives--except for egg-laying females. Here is a photo of a mature adult sea turtle:
Photo credit: seeturtles.org/sea-turtle-life-cycle (Paula von Weller, Brad Nahill/SEE Turtles, Neil Ever Osborne, Hal Brindley)
So, please think about the juvenile phase, after they are old enough to swim, but before they are the size of a dinner plate: these are often referred to as "lost years". Scientists find that the location of sea turtles during this time is difficult to track. The term "pelagic phase" is often part of descriptions of their behavior during Their growth years are characterized by foraging over very broad areas of the ocean.
Does this remind you of human teenagers and young adults? Hmmmm. natural behavior? We could learn a lot, I believe. Post your thoughts about this on my blog page, the one with the Greek setting: white buildings and the blue Aegean: ....I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Once they are mature, sea turtles often return to the coastal waters near where they were born to nest--more recent studies have reported that they may migrate to beaches in warmer climates all over the world. And, sea turtles face so many threats: Among these threats is the amount of single use plastic in the ocean. According to seeturtles.org , millions of tons of plastic are already floating in the ocean. Follow this link to read more, and consider a donation :https://www.seeturtles.org/sea-turtles-plastic.
