Her decision to tag the boy loggerheads arises out of the scarcity of information we currently have on them. The loggerhead has become, along with the dolphin and the spotted owl, a poster child for wilderness conservation. Yet, studies of nesting females aside, we know almost nothing about them. The female and her clutch of eggs has rightly received the bulk of attention in ongoing efforts to save the species from extinction. Meanwhile, however, the vast majority of the turtle's life is spent in the ocean deeps.
Expectant mothers return to land only to deposit the next generation.
Males simply never return. According to Mitchell, the hatchling boy breaks out of its egg, makes a run for shore, and is never heard from again. Even the mating of loggerheads takes place on the high seas, on or near the surface. The whereabouts of female loggerheads are not much better known. Though scientists interact yearly with the baby-makers of the species, the female is surprisingly independent.