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Green sea turtles are rare and uncommon. They are one of the largest hard-shelled species of sea turtle and the only herbivore in the adult stage of their life. Young green sea turtles may eat jellyfish, crabs, or even sponges.
These giant turtles only eat sea flora and seaweed, which is the reason for their green-colored cartilage and fat that influence their name. It is also known as a black sea turtle or Pacific green turtle. Moreover, like all sea turtles, green turtles have a defensive shell but they cannot pull their head and flippers inside as land turtles can. These turtles are founded thought the world and they live in the coastal area of more than 140 countries.
Green sea turtles make their burrows and nest on the same beach where they were born. This is something highly impressive because they do not reach their sexual maturity age until they get 20 years old, therefore, they basically find their way back home more than 20 years later. These sea turtles also benefit from the magnetic forces of the earth to sail the path back home.
To pull out the eggs, the turtles creep onto the beach coastal and lay around 85 to 200 eggs under the sand, at night. Two months of incubation later, the young turtles birth and emerge to the surface, then they start a mad dash to the ocean while escaping from predators.
Interesting fact
As human beings, turtles also need to breathe oxygen. However, they can spend up to two hours under the water before feeling the need to “take a breath”. They also have the ability to survive with the ingestion of salty water, because the salt glands behind their eyes help them to expulse the excessive salt.
Conservation
Green sea turtles are at continued risk and face a wide variety of challenges during their life and habitats. They tend to mistake plastic bags or plastic pieces as food, they can also be tangled with fishing nets or plastic bands that cause them to drown. Along with that, rising sea levels has caused flooding nest and difficulty for female turtles to lay their eggs. The temperature in the exterior of the egg defines the sex of the turtle (cooler eggs produce males and warmer eggs produce females) and a disbalance in the number of male and female turtles may conduct reproduction inconveniences in the years to come.
More interesting articles about the ocean:
- Where are the largest bodies of fresh water?
- CLEANING PLASTIC FROM THE SEA
- 8 Ways to help save the Oceans
- Global Agreement: Opportunity to get rid of plastic pollution
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