Loggerhead Sea Turtle

Physical Features- Oversized head looks like log which gave its name-In head, powerful jaws used for crushing hard prey-About 3 ft. long-Newborns 2 in. long- Shell carapace heart shaped and reddish-brown- Shell plastron yellowish-brown- Baby weighs 0.05 lbs- Baby brown w/ dark grey- Neck & flippers reddish brown

Diet:-Eat conches-horseshoe crab-jellyfish-fish-seaweed-sargrassum-whelks-not considered fish eaters but eat fish

Loggerhead Sea Turtle

Life cycle:-die if head in wrong direction when baby-live to be 50 yrs old in the wild

Habitat:-live in whole ocean but not cold waters-more loggerheads in US than any other turtle-live mostly in bays and estuaries-some live in Bahamas and Antilles-adults live in swampy muddy bottom of bays-major nesting area in NC-FL-in lifetime live in 3 different homes;beach,far-out ocean, & bays-baby lives with current-teens live 15 ft below surface

Behavior:-threatened species-lays eggs 4 times in 1 nesting season-born 60 days after laid-go to ocean at nightfall-mate at 35 yrs old-nest/hatch in June-Nov-nest at night-nest 2-3 yrs but average 1-6 yrs-threatened by pollution, habiatat loss, and fishing nets

Interesting Facts:-eggs eaten by racoons, wild pigs, crabs and birds-scientific name CARETTA-live underwater but breathe air-listed threatened in 1978-most common turtle in US

Opinion:-I think the loggerhead is so cute-I love the animal-I think people should help save the loggerhead-I think it is very interesting

-kids.national geographic.com-nmfs.gov-turtles.org