While turtles exist the world over, the Green Sea Turtle is the only species of turtle that nests in the Galapagos Islands. Some will tell you that the Galapagos is the only place in the world these turtles nest. Yet, Galapagos Green Sea turtles have been found swimming off the coast of Peru. Regardless, only the females leave the ocean to lay their eggs. The males spend most of their lives swimming. These turtles have a unique way of dealing with salt water. They have a salt gland behind each eye that sheds excess salt. Apparently it makes them look like they are crying. Maybe they are crying, but not because of the salt.
Adapted to the ocean, sea turtles’ limbs have evolved into flippers that they use to glide gracefully through the water. At times they look like they are flying. They have been tracked at speeds of 35 mph, can grow up to approximately 4.5 feet long, and can weight up to 650 lbs. The largest sea turtle ever recorded was 871 lbs.
Green Sea Turtles get their name because of the green color of their fat tissues not their shells. (They eat algae that colors their tissues.) Their shells are yellow-green and beautiful in the turquoise waters. When eating they stay under water for five to ten minutes. Yet when they are resting, they can stay under the water for two and a half hours without coming up for air. Apparently young turtles generally sleep on the surface of the water.
You’d have to have your head in the sand to not know that sea turtles the world over are critically endangered. The females lay their eggs in burrows dug in sandy beaches and then leave the hatchlings to fend for themselves. The young hatchlings have to get out of their shells, dig themselves out of their burrow, and then make it to the ocean before being eaten by any number of predators. While this has been the life/death struggle for eons, what is relatively new are the pressures that humans have placed on them. Turtle eggs are a delicacy in many places the worldover and their habitat is being encroached upon and even built upon. More, they are very sensitive to light pollution. They can be disoriented and head towards the source of the light instead of the ocean. Most never make it regardless.
And then there is the plastic in our oceans……
On most of our snorkel trips we would see them—sometimes in groups of four or five—sometimes singularly. Out of the depths, they’d appear and slowly glide towards us—swimming under us or beside us without showing fear or annoyance. I think all of us experienced at least once, swimming along side one these gentle giants as if we were companions. One particularly time, I floated slightly above and to the side of one for some time. He appeared to be watching me as together, we swam slowly in large circles. It was a magical moment.
