SPECIESGREEN TURTLE – CHELONIA MYDASGreen turtles are an endangered species around theworld. They are easily recognized from other turtle
species because they have a single pair of scales infront of their eyes. The largest green turtle ever found
was 1,524m in length and weighed 395 kg's. The dietof the green turtle changes during its life. When lessthen 20 to 25 cm in length they eat worms, young
crustaceans, aquatic insects, grasses and algae. Whenthey reach more than 20 to 25 cm they mostly eat
grasses and algae. The green turtle is the only sea
turtle that is totally herbivorous as an adult. Theirjaws are finely serrated to tear the vegetation. The
green turtle is a non-breeding resident.
HAWKSBILL TURTLE –ERETMOCHELYS IMBRICATA
Occur as vagrants in our waters. The Hawksbill is asmall to medium sized sea turtle. It has 4 pairs ofscutes on the body, two claws on each flipper and abeak-like mouth. They feed on sponges, anemones,
squid and shrimps from crevices in coral reefs. Thecarapace is heart shaped in very young turtles andbecomes elongated with maturity. Hawksbills havebeen killed because of their beautiful shells which areused to make jewelry.
OLIVE RIDLEY – LEPIDOCHELYS OLIVACEAThe Olive Ridley is a small turtle and is olive green.
Occurs as vagrants in our waters. They are omnivorousand feed on crabs and prawns.

LEATHERBACK TURTLES –DERMOCHELYS CORIACEA
Leatherback turtles grow the largest, dive the deepest
and travel further than any of the other sea turtles.
Mature leatherbacks weigh between 295 and 589 kg's.
The largest leatherback ever recorded was almost 3mlong and weighed 916kg. The leatherback does not have
hard scales as other sea turtles do. It is named for its
large, elongated shell – layers of thin tough rubberyskin. The body of the leatherback is barrel shaped,
tapering at the rear to a blunt point. This streamlined
body and power flippers allow the turtle to swim
thousands of kilometers across the ocean.
They have delicate scissor-like jaws, which is why they
only eat soft-bodied animals. They slurp in jellyfish.
Young leatherbacks can eat twice their weight in jellyfish.
Females reach sexual maturity at approximately
12-15 years of age.

What you want to know!

LOGGERHEAD TURTLE –CARETTA CARETTA
Loggerhead turtles get their name because of their
exceptionally large heads. Adult loggerheads can weigh
up to 159 kg's and have a reddish-brown carapace (uppershell) and a dull yellow plastron (lower shell).
Loggerhead turtles are carnivorous and feed mainly onshellfish (crabs, clams, mussels) that live on the bottomof the ocean. Their powerful jaw muscles help them toeasily crush the shellfish. Females reach sexual maturity
at 12-15 years of age. Loggerheads lay an average ofbetween 100 to 126 eggs per clutch.
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GENERAL INFORMATIONOVERVIEW
5 species of sea turtles are foundin South Africa.

REPRODUCTION
Breeding:
Most of the turtle’s life is spent in the sea, but females
must come onto the beaches to lay their eggs. All sea
turtles begin their lives as tiny hatchlings on land. Alongthe South African coast lines nesting occurs between
October and February.

Sea turtles are large air breathing REPTILES
and have been around for over 2 million
years. They live in the sea, but must rise to
the surface to breathe air.
Their shells consist of an upper part(carapace) and a lower section (plastron).
They have hard scales (scutes) that cover
all over the carapace (except Leatherback
turtles). The number of scutes determines
the species of sea turtle.
Sea turtles do not have teeth. The jaw ofeach species is specially formed to suit their
particular diet.
Each species of sea turtle eats, sleeps, matesand swims in distinctly different areas of theocean. Therefore the turtles do not competewith each other for their food or space.
Sea turtles do not have visible ears, but they
do have eardrums, which are covered byskin. They hear best at low frequencies andtheir sense of smell is excellent.
Turtles have salt glands that remove excess
salt taken in with food. The salt solution
drips out of their eyes and looks like tears.

CONSERVATION
All turtle species are endangered. It is therefore
essential that every effort be made to ensure
the future survival of these creatures.

Life cycle:
The eggs incubate for about 60 days, depending on thesurrounding temperature. The temperature also has
an effect on the sex of the juveniles. Cooler (20-24°C)
clutches result in a male dominated clutch while warmer(29°C) nests produce females. Clutches laid between
seasons produce both male and females.The hatchlings
cut themselves out of the egg using a special egg toothon the end of their beaks, and then slowly stretch theirlimbs. The hatchlings emerge after dark, when it iscooler and safe from predatory birds. They then move
down to the water. During their scramble to the sea,
ghost crabs eat many of the hatchlings. Once they arein the water they are very
vulnerable to predatorssuch as kingfish andsharks. It is estimated that
only 1 or 2 hatchlings outof 1000 that enter the sea
will survive to maturity.
Turtles grow very slowly.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:
Why are turtles endangered?
Pollution
Over exploitation of the adults and eggs
Destruction and alteration of breeding beaches
Gill nets
What can you do to help?
Litter should be disposed of properly. Turtles
die each year as a result of eating plastic debris
that they mistake for floating food. Plastic bags
block the gut causing the slow starvation anddeath of turtles. Make sure that none of theitems that you buy contain parts of turtle, inparticular turtle shell jewelry and hair clips. In
some parts of the world, turtles are harvested
for food or their shells. Avoid driving vehicleson the beaches. Deep tyre tracks on soft sandcan trap the turtle hatchlings.