Photo from WWF.org
Did you know?
- The nest temperature determines a sea turtle’s sex. Boys like it cool. Girls like it hot.
- After incubating for two months (55-60 days), hatchlings must escape natural predators like birds, crabs, and raccoons to make it to the sea.
- Newborn sea turtles instinctively move in the brightest direction, ideally to follow the light of the moon toward the water. (This is why Sanibel has implemented a “dark-skies ordinance” with stringent restrictions on beach lighting.)
- Any litter on the beach can become a huge obstacle preventing hatchlings from reaching the sea.
- Once in the water, hatchlings are consumed by seabirds and fish. Few survive to adulthood, with estimates ranging from one in 1,000 to one in 10,000.
- The first few year’s of a sea turtle’s life are often referred to as the “lost years.” That’s because the time between when the hatchlings emerge until they return to coastal shallow waters to forage is incredibly difficult to study. The lost years they spend at sea — which can be up to 20 years — largely remain a mystery to humans.
