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Turtles hatch from eggs. The female sea turtle comes onto land to lay her eggs (using hind
legs to dig the hole in the sand), while the male spends his entire life in the ocean. The clutch of 50-170 ping-pong ball-like eggs which incubate for 6-13 weeks. They lay between 3-7 nests per season. The mother leaves the nest. The warmth from the sun causes the eggs to hatch. The hatchlings emerge from nest and head towards brightest horizon (Musick & Lawrence, 2003). A variety of factors can affect the hatching success of sea turtles. Such as temperature, natural predators, environmental issues such as plastic bags, fishing nets, oil spills & sand mining (Musick & Lawrence, 2003). Only one in a thousand hatchlings survive the 30-50 years it takes a sea turtle to reach breeding age (Canin & Henkel, 2006).
When they are about 40 years old they will come back to
the same beach to mate and lay their eggs (Sea Turtle Foundation Ltd, 2009). Some turtles can live to be over 100 years old (Sea Turtle Foundation Ltd, 2009). But some turtles do not even make it past the egg stage. Turn the page to see why.
Hatchling
Juvenile
Adult
References
Arkive. (n.d). Turtles. Wildscreen, from http://www.arkive.org/explore/species?q=turtles Arkive. (n.d-a). Giant south american turtle, from http://www.arkive.org/giant-south-americanturtle/podocnemis-expansa/video-09b.html Canin, J., & Henkel, C. (Writers). (2006). One in a thousand. In Hatchling Productions (Producer). Australia. Fordham, D., Georges, A., & Corey, B. (2007). Optimal conditions for egg storage, incubation and post-hatching growth for the freshwater turtle, Chelodina rugosa: Science in support of an indigenous enterprise. Science Direct, 270, 105-114. Musick, S., & Lawrence, L. (2003). Sea Turtle Science. A research-based middle and high school classroom resource. In N. M. E. Association (Ed.), Bridge (pp. 11). Minnesota, USA: National Marine Educators Association. National Geographic Kids. (2010). Gulf turtle eggs relocated, from http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/news/animals-news/us-oil-spill-turtlerelocation-vin.html Sea Turtle Conservancy. (2008). Tour de turtles: A sea turtle migration marathon Retrieved 3rd October, 2010 Sea Turtle Foundation Ltd. (2008). Sea turtle foundation Retrieved 23rd October, 2010 Sea Turtle Foundation Ltd (Writer). (2009). Turtle trials. Australia: Sea Turtle Foundation. SolaMedia. (2009). Turtle: The incredible journey, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=somiE24YeHQ&noredirect=1 Wikipedia. (2002). Turtles Retrieved 23rd October, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtle