Others may become disoriented by the lights of oceanfront developments or trapped by vehicle tracks in the sand. Weather extremes and storm tides may also hamper their trek to the sea. What happens to loggerheads once they reach the ocean is still a mystery. Biologists believe that these young turtles spend their first years floating in seaweed mats and feeding on the small invertebrates that live there. As they grow, their diet changes to larger mollusks and crustaceans.
Most turtles never make it to adulthood.
It is thought that perhaps one out of 1,000 loggerheads live to reproduce. Loggerheads and other sea turtles have roamed the world's oceans for more than 150 million years. Now, however, their survival is threatened by humans. Beachfront development, increased boating and fishing, and pollution all contribute to their declining numbers. All five species of marine turtles found in North Carolina waters are listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act as either threatened or endangered.