Turtle Conservation Speech

852 Words4 Pages

For any turtle conservation effort to succeed, it is important to have a furthermore understanding of their life history. Because of their physical characteristics, their bulk and strength, body form and musculature, sea turtles are excellently prepared for life in water. However, they become highly vulnerable when they are on land and are in fact seemingly incapable of active self-defense. As such, they are prey to a host of predators such as jaguars and pumas when on land. But back to the land, they must go if only to perform perhaps the most important task of their lives: to ensure the survival of their species by nesting and laying their eggs. The mating behavior of sea turtles can be described as strenuous and violent. Nesting seasons …show more content…

Some only do so only when they feel harassed or threatened. Aside from the hazards faced by the mother turtle while nesting and laying her eggs, the eggs themselves are prey to egg eaters, both animal and human. And as soon as they hatch, the lives of the hatchlings are also overwhelmed with danger. The turtle hatchlings’ journey from the nest to the sea is fraught with danger. A host of predators ranging from ants to crabs and even dogs may lie in wait for them to surface. Some of these predators come from far back in the interior and show up on the beach specifically for the turtle season. Without parental care and guarding, the hatchlings work their way out of the nest into the sea, relying only on their inherent sense of direction as well as on each other to reach their destination. Crawling singly, the hatchlings are easily confused and hesitate more than when they crawl in groups. As such, they are more likely to become prey to waiting predators. Teamwork hence is a necessity for their survival. Where the hatchlings go and spend their early years once they are out in the open sea is still a …show more content…

Males hardly ever return to land after going into the seas hatchlings. At all other times in between the sea turtle lives in areas out of sight, making it difficult to monitor and track them down. Sea turtles are highly migratory species. Over 90% of the sea turtle’s life is spent on the open sea. This makes it difficult for scientists to observe their feeding, mating, and migratory behavior. The numerous studies and researches already undertaken to understand sea turtles are mostly limited to the nesting behavior of females when they nest and lay their eggs, and of hatchlings when they finally surface from their nest. As such, further research must still be done in order to identify the critical sea turtle habitats, feeding grounds and migratory routes worldwide. One method being used by scientists and turtle conservationists involves putting identification tags on captured or nesting adult turtles to recognize them should they be seen again, and to monitor and track their progress. Valuable information about the migration routes, growth rates and reproductive cycles of sea turtles have been obtained by tagging. To date, there is still no device available to put markings on 3-ounce hatchlings so that they can be identified when they reach

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