Education Turtle Tracks & Facts

Did you know...

• The male turtle never returns to land. The female only returns to land to nest.
• The temperature during egg incubation determines the sex of the hatchlings. Hot temperatures make female turtles, cooler temps make male. Remember it like this …”Hot Chicks” and “Cool Dudes”
• Few sea turtles survive to adulthood, but the natural lifespan of those that do is estimated to be 40 to 60+ years.
• Thousands of sea turtles die each year from eating and becoming entangled in plastic bags and balloons floating in the water. While releasing helium balloons into the air to celebrate an event, the balloons end up drifting in the oceans where sea turtles mistake them for one of their main food sources, jellyfish.
• Five species of sea turtles are in Florida waters & beaches; the Loggerhead, the Green, the Leatherback, the Kemp's Ridley, and the Hawksbill. All sea turtles found in Florida are protected under state statutes.

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