What Are Sea Turtles And Where Do They Live?
Sea turtles are air-breathing reptiles whose limbs have evolved over time into flippers for swimming in the ocean. Well-adapted to their marine habitat, sea turtles are proficient swimmers and often travel thousands of miles between nesting beaches and feeding or wintering areas. There are seven species of sea turtles worldwide–green, loggerhead, olive ridley, Kemp’s ridley, hawksbill, and leatherback. Five of these–the green, loggerhead, leatherback, Kemp’s ridley, and hawksbill–are found In U.S. waters in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. With the exception of the Kemp’s ridley, these species also occur along our southern Pacific coast along with the olive ridley. They vary widely in size, from the small, critically endangered Kemp’s ridley, with adults weighing between 80 and 100 pounds (36-45 kg), to the 1000+ pound (453 kg) leatherback. What Makes Them Unique? Sea turtles spend their entire lives at sea, except when the females come ashore to lay eggs. Every 2-5 years fema
