The Loggerhead sea turtle is a marine reptile and an endangered animal.On the conservation chart it is one step away from being critically endangered and two steps from being extinct in the wild. It is distributed all over the world with Florida being the most popular nesting site for this turtle. You’ll come across these turtles in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Ocean. The Loggerhead has a lifespan of 47-67 years and full-grown adults can weigh up to 300 pounds. These turtles favor the open ocean and shallow coastal waters. Females come ashore to build nests and lay eggs.
It is interesting to note that when temperatures go down and this cold-blooded animal’s metabolism slows down; it can stay submerged for up to seven hours. It then comes up for around seven minutes to breathe.
They feed on other animals found at the bottom of the ocean on sandy reefs and the shallow waters of bays. Location and season influence their diet. In fact, these omnivorous turtles with strong jaws have the most varied palate of all turtles. Although they feed mainly on invertebrates such as sponges, bivalves, corals, and sea anemones they’ll grab the occasional crab or flying fish when they can.
Loggerhead turtles attain reproductive capabilities between 17-33 years of age. These turtles mate approximately every three years. The mating cycle can last for a month and half. The female lays eggs in on a sandy beach, often returning to the site where she emerged as a hatchling. The procedure begins with choosing a safe site on the beach and excavating a pit. The female then lays the eggs and covers the pit. A single clutch can have up to 110-112 eggs. The female loggerhead can lay eggs up to four times during the nesting season. The hatchlings emerge after two months and head to the sea. At this point, concrete information on what these animals do is not readily available and the research is on to learn more. They appear again in the coastal waters after seven to ten years. Scientists conjecture that they spend the interim period in the open ocean riding the currents attaining juvenile status.
As mentioned above, the Loggerhead turtle is an endangered species. Adults face threats from fishing trawlers and are hunted for their meat. Their fat finds use in cosmetics. Eggs and hatchlings are vulnerable to predators such as birds, lizards, snakes, etc. Humankind has contributed by drastically reducing available nesting space for these turtles. Loss of nesting sites has adversely affected the breeding capabilities of this animal. Refuse dumped into the oceans leads to toxin build-up inside the body. Artificial lightning is another issue. It confuses adults and interferes with their ability to reach the nesting site; it also disorients hatchlings trying to reach the ocean waters. The multiple threats to the survival of the loggerhead sea turtles are further compounded by the fact that these animals take decades to reach sexual maturity and then mate only three-four times in a decade.
Beaches in Florida offer the most extensive nesting sites for loggerhead sea turtles and the state of Florida is at the forefront of the conservation efforts to save this beautiful reptile. In fact, the loggerhead sea turtles has been designated as the state saltwater reptile of Florida.
The Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton, Florida was established in 1984 and its efforts are focused on environmental research, education, and conservation. More than 10,000 school students in Palm Beach County receive information on coastal and marine ecology every year. Saving the loggerhead sea turtle is high priority for the folks at Gumbo Limbo. The organization is supported by enthusiastic volunteers, who help with hatchling release, held stranded turtles, and participate in nesting surveys.
By rehabilitating stranded loggerhead sea turtles the organization helps to minimize avoidable loss of life and injury to the animals. The process also provides an opportunity to study these animals and gather valuable data on them. Similarly, nesting surveys help monitor state-wide population of the loggerhead sea turtles. The Hatchling Release Program is a great opportunity for locals to actually see baby loggerhead sea turtle that have been rescued from excavated nests being released some meters away from the ocean waters and how they crawl to the safety of the ocean.
The newly instituted Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center at Gumbo Limbo helps treat injured and sick sea turtles including loggerheads.
Hey Petinsurance101,
Thanks, on a related note, The only living member of the genus Caretta, the Loggerhead sea turtle can expand up to an daunting 364 kg and 1.1 metres extensive. The species is so named for the turtle’s through-sizable head punctuated by a set of powerful jaws appropriate for feeding on a vast variety of sea everyday living from mollusks (whelks and conch) to crustaceans (crabs and shrimp) to fish and jellyfish. They have also been best-known to consume small-scale or immature maritime animals this kind of as sea birds and mammals.
Keep up the posts!