Sea turtles are very old organisms. They have lived on Earth more than 220 million years. They managed to survive weather changes which killed the dinosaurs.
Their body is protected with upper shell called carapace.
Unlike land turtles, sea turtles can’t hide their heads and legs inside the shell. That makes them more vulnerable when they come in contact with predators.
Sea turtles spend most of their life in the ocean. Females can be seen on the beaches only during the nesting season.
During the nesting season, a female sea turtle returns to the same beach where she was born. They have been known to locate the precise beach irrespective of their age or the time they have spent away from the location.
Turtles lay their eggs on the beach and cover them with sand to protect them from predators. Depending on the sub-species, a nest can have 60-200 eggs! Turtles lay so many eggs because the baby turtles have no mother to guide them when they are born. They find their way to the ocean and learn all their life skills on their own. This makes their survival rate low.
Temperature determines the gender of the baby turtles. Female turtles are born if the temperature of the egg is high and male if the temperature of the egg is low.
