9 Surprising Facts About Sea Turtles
“...1. They think jellyfish are delicious.
Leatherbacks & hawkbill turtles feed on jellyfish & keep their populations in check...
2. They‘re the oceans‘ lawnmowers.
Green sea turtles have a more plant-based diet & eat seagrass. By keeping seagrass short, they prevent it from getting tall & harming other marine creatures.
3. They cannot retract into their shell like other turtles.
Since they don’t have to protect themselves from predators for most of their life on water, sea turtles cannot retract their flippers & head into their shells. Their anatomy makes them more agile when under the sea but highly vulnerable when nesting & hatching.
4. Temperature dictates the sex of baby turtles.
Warmer nests lead to more females & cooler ones lead to more males...
5. They‘ve been around for a very, very long time.
An estimated 110 million years is how long sea turtles have existed on Earth, which means they once shared the planet with T-Rex & other dinosaurs.
To accomplish this mighty feat they slow their heart rate to up to 9 minutes in between heart beats in order to conserve oxygen.
7. They live to about 100 years.
And that’s also roughly the amount of eggs they lay every time they nest.
8. Dogs are not a sea turtle’s best friend.
...their natural predators include dogs who dig up their eggs buried in the sand.
9. They have an excellent sense of direction.
Sea turtles can detect the Earth’s magnetic field & they use it as a compass.”
Natalia Lima
June 15/2016
care2.com
Cute Critter Pic
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