A large turtle with a long, slightly tapering carapace, the loggerhead has a wide chunky head housing powerful jaws. It can crush even hard-shelled prey and feeds on crabs and mollusks as well as on sponges, jellyfish and aquatic plants. The loggerhead prefers the warm waters of tropical and subtropical waters. However, they are sometimes found in temperate water.
Loggerheads prefer coastal bays, but are found in the open seas.
Loggerheads usually breed every other year and lay three or four clutches of about 100 eggs each in a season. The loggerhead population has been reduced by overcollection of eggs and lack of hunting controls, but in southeast Africa, where the turtles have been protected for more than 10 years, their numbers have increased by over 50 percent. All rights reserved. The Evergreen Project, Inc.