The Circle of Life
Nesting
The mother loggerhead lumbers from the surf, prodding the sand with her nose, as if to test it. Current research suggests the turtle is testing the sand’s moisture content, grain size and temperature to find just the right spot for eggs.
Hatching
The turtle hatchlings incubate betwen 50 to 85 days from July through late October. Both nesting and hatching take place under the protection of the night sky. When baby turtles, called hatchlings, emerge from their nests they are drawn to the light — moonlight and phosphorescense from the ocean — to guide them to the sea.
Adulthood
It takes between 25 to 30 years for sea turtles to reach maturity and are of nesting age. It is believed that these adults return to the beaches where they were hatched to lay their eggs. Journeys from feeding grounds to nesting grounds may span 20,000 miles.
Nesting
The mother loggerhead lumbers from the surf, prodding the sand with her nose, as if to test it. Current research suggests the turtle is testing the sand’s moisture content, grain size and temperature to find just the right spot for eggs. Unusual sounds and lights will turn the mother turtle back to the ocean, leaving only her tracks. This is called a “false crawl”
Once she has begun to dig her nest, please stay back and turn off flash lights. She throws sand back and forth about 18 inches deep into the base of the dunes, just above the high tide mark. If the nest is not above the high tide mark then the nest is moved. She completes her clutch, laying about 100-120 ping-pong shaped eggs.
After the eggs are laid, she sweeps sand into the hole, raises up and plunks her body up and down on top of the nest, packing the site. Once she finishes, it is very difficult to distinguish the nest from the rest of the beach except for the herringbone tracks that trail to and from the nest to the ocean. She may lay 4 to 7 nests in one season.
Nesting season begins in Brunswick County in early May and runs through late August. High mortality rates for turtle eggs are due to predation by ghost crabs, foxes, raccoons, and over wash from tides.
Hatching
The turtle hatchlings incubate between 50 to 85 days from July through late October. Both nesting and hatching take place under the protection of the night sky. When baby turtles, called hatchlings, emerge from their nests they are drawn to the light — moonlight and phosphorescense from the ocean — to guide them to the sea. Street lights, motel and house lights, and car lights disorient them so that they wander and become victims of ghost crabs, sea gulls, the heat of the sun and road traffic.
Current research indicates that most hatchlings that make it to the ocean swim toward the Gulf Stream and the Sargasso Sea for protection and food at this early stage of their life. High mortality rates for hatchlings and young turtles are also due to commercial fishing nets and predation by sharks, birds and bluefish. Out of 1,000 turtles eggs, only about 1 turtle hatchling will make it to adulthood.
Adulthood
It takes between 25 to 30 years for sea turtles to reach maturity and are of nesting age. It is believed that these adults return to the beaches where they were hatched to lay their eggs. Journeys from feeding grounds to nesting grounds may span 20,000 miles.
Loggerhead turtles eat plants and meat. Their favorite food seems to be Portuguese Man-of-War and squid.
Sea turtles may live to be over 100 years old.
Sea Turtles 101
Why Healthy Oceans Need Sea Turtles
The Importance of Sea Turtles to Marine Ecosystems
Sea turtles have played vital roles in maintaining the health of the world’s oceans for more than 100 million years. These roles range from maintaining productive coral reef ecosystems to transporting essential nutrients from the oceans to beaches and coastal dunes.
Major changes have occurred in the oceans because sea turtles have been virtually eliminated from many areas of the globe. Commercial fishing, loss of nesting habitat and climate change are among the human-caused threats pushing sea turtles towards extinction. As sea turtle populations decline, so does their ability to fulfill vital functions in ocean ecosystems.
Our oceans are unhealthy and under significant threat from overfishing, pollution and climate change. It is time for us to protect sea turtles and rebuild their populations to healthy levels as a vital step in ensuring healthy and resilient oceans for the future.
