Sea Turtles have been around since the dinosaurs. But the chances of sea turtles surviving to adult hood is pretty slim. To begin, about fifty to two-hundred eggs are laid on the beach. About twenty percent of these eggs won't hatch. After hatching, the turtles make a dash for the sea, fifty percent of those who hatch will not make it to the sea. Once they make it to the sea, about fifty percent will perish within the first few months of being in the sea. They travel in the ocean, victim to sharks, sea birds and other marine creatures. As they grow, they achieve more protection from their predators but can still perish. At about twenty years of age, the turtles can now lay eggs, but this is less than ten percent of the eggs that were laid.

To begin, it was hard for sea turtles to survive and reach adulthood. Now, with human endeavors, the chances of turtles surviving to this point is even less. Coastal development, plastic trash such as bags and soda can holders, poaching, by-catch in fishing nets, and oil spills have dropped the sea turtle survival rate to below one percent. All seven of the sea turtle species are now either threatened or endangered. To put this into perspective, of 1000 eggs laid by a female during nesting season, only 2 will survive to breeding age.

Organizations such as WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) and SeeTurtles are working to preserve these majestic animals. WWF even has a 55 dollar adopt a sea turtle link so that a person could donate could save a turtle. SeeTurtles has conservation travel and educational programs to help along with an program, Billion Baby Turtles which help save these turtle hatchlings. But, how much more can these ancient creatures survive?

It is clear that the human race and our habits have a detrimental impact upon other species, causing many species that have been on this earth for a long time to become endangered or extinct. Turtles are one of these creatures that have been impacted by humans. But, these animals and their populations are beginning to grow recently as a result of quarantine. The corona virus lockdown has made it so that the beaches are closed and turtles can once again flourish. Sea turtles have been around for millions of years and are ancient animals. For these animals to be endangered is shocking, but it is really reassuring to see the sea turtles population grow and thrive during this time. It is an unexpected silver lining and pro of this tough time.

On April 18^th, the Loggerhead Marinelife Center said that there were 7- leatherback and loggerhead sea turtle nests on a 9.5 mile stretch of Juno Beach, FL. Loggerheads are listed as vulnerable on the Red List and this quarantine has become a time for all types of sea creatures to build up their populations. The number of nests is increasing and scientists are hoping this has a lasting impact.

In the past. Humans have made it more difficult for turtles to nest undisturbed and the hatchlings become confused with all the lights. To add to this, there is a reduced amount of trash on the beach which are obstacles for hatchling sea turtles. In addition, there are fewer boats out on the water and the turtles as a result can mate closer to shore as they are not as much at risk of boating deaths. Now, with all of these disturbances disappearing, the nesting of sea turtles is better all over the world, from India to Costa Rica. Nature is finally getting a break from the daily disruptions and disturbances of people.

How do Sea Turtles always return to the same beaches where they were born? Every year, a leatherback sea turtle will travel 10,000 plus miles. Some in the Atlantic traveling from the Caribbean to Canada and some in the Pacific from Southeast Asia to California and the Alaskan waters. One of the most famous migrating sea turtle is Yoshi, a sea turtle that was tracked traveling from Australia to the waters of Angola on Africa. When sea turtles migrate, they are migrating between foraging grounds and nesting grounds and seasonally to warmer waters. Sea turtles nest in tropical and subtropical regions around the globe. After nesting they migrate back towards their foraging grounds where they eat lots of jellyfish and crabs to gain fat to continue their thousand-mile ocean migration.

Scientists are unsure of how these creatures know exactly how to navigate back to their beaches. Researchers think that sea turtles use a number of clues such as ocean currents or the earth’s magnetic field.

When sea turtles are new hatchlings, once they reach the ocean, they will drift with the current in order to preserve energy. When a baby sea turtle drifts from the beach to a good site, it is thought that the site will imprint on their brain and they will go there as an adult. This affects their migrations as sea turtles travel through the ocean to the beach where they were born. The turtles will have this site imprinted in their brain and travel closer there.

Earth’s magnetic field is a giant invisible shield that protects Earth from dangerous solar radiation. The core of the Earth is surrounded by molten metal which sloshes around and causes the magnetic field to fluctuate. J. Roger Brothers conducted an experiment and the results found that at certain times and places, the magnetic field shifted so the signals from the beaches moved closer together. When this occurred, the turtle nests were more densely populated with turtle nests and where they diverged, there were fewer turtles and nests. But, scientists are still unsure of how these sea turtles would be able to detect the field.

As we know, all sea turtle species are in need of our help. There are many additional threats that hurt sea turtles, most of the human related. Some threats to sea turtles include, bycatch in commercial fishing gear, the illegal trade of turtle meat and eggs, habitat loss, climate change, pollution, and beach traffic. There are many sea turtle conservation organizations though that are working to help and save these sea turtles.

For this blog, I will be focusing on the SEE turtles conservation efforts. If you visit their website, you would see that they are an organization dedicated to helping the turtles species. In 2008, this conservation effort was launched and was the world’s first effort that started to protect sea turtles through ecotourism. It is a non-profit organization that protects sea turtles mainly in Latin America. They have 3 different conservation efforts that you would be able to find on their website that you could be a part of.

The first conservation effort, and the easiest to be a part of is their Billion Baby Turtles program. With this, you can either donate or raise money through student fundraisers or facebook fundraisers to save endangered hatchlings. For every one dollar that they raise, at least 10 endangered hatchlings are saved.

Another conservation effort that they are making to save the turtles species is the Too Rare To Wear campaign. This is a campaign to stop the selling of hawksbill turtleshell products. Hawksbill help maintain coral reefs and are very endangered. The Hawksbill sea turtles have been hunted to near extinction for their colorful shells that are made into products that are sold to tourists and known as tortoise shell. I have signed the pledge, pledging to be sure that I buy turtle friendly souvenirs to help end the demand for turtleshell products.

They also have conservation trips where if you sign up, you get to help save endangered sea turtles. These trips are through Latin America and they have tours to Costa Rica, Belize, Mexico, and the Galapagos. While these tours are a little expensive, the profits support conservation efforts. In addition, you would get to work directly with local researchers and get experiences you wouldn’t get anywhere else. There’s so much wildlife out in the sea and you get firsthand experiences with some amazing creatures.

If you want to know more about these amazing experiences and fun ways that you could help sea turtles, you can just go to the SEE turtles website and read all about it. It’s very inspiring and makes you want to save sea turtles. For an added surprise, I will be interviewing a SEE turtle representative in my second podcast, so check that out if you would like.

One of the things that I have recently added to my bucket list is to become a part of sea turtle conservation and to participate in a beach clean-up. While these things do not sound like they are fun, they actually can be really fulfilling and can help make you happier.

The main reason the sea turtle population is becoming endangered is humans. We destroy their habits, disrupt their nesting, and pollute the ocean. As we diminish their population, it feels good to say that there is a way that we could help and prevent their extinction. You and I could contribute to aiding these old and majestic creatures from becoming extinct.

To begin with, by just participating in a beach clean-up you benefit more than just the sea turtles. But, think of the baby sea turtle hatchlings trying to make their way out to sea, but coming into contact with a lot of trash, and being confused as to which way the ocean is and as a result never making it there. Or, think about the plastic bag you could have picked up but didn’t, that drifted into the ocean. Then, the sea turtle that believed it was a jellyfish and ate it, choking. After completing a beach clean-up you can feel as if you made a difference, because you would have.

Another way you could help the species is by joining a turtle conservation project and patrolling the beaches. It is known that during the journey from the sand to the sea, only 50% of the hatchlings survive and make it to the sea. Think about the difference that could be made if almost all of the hatchlings made it to the ocean. This would increase the chance that one of those hatchlings becomes an adult sea turtle and reproduces.

I know these things seem like daunting things to add to your bucket-list. But they are not hard to do, it is easy to make a difference and help these creatures. All that you have to do is take the initiative. After that, you can feel good, knowing that you contributed to the conservation of an old creature that does not deserve extinction. Rather than sitting back, you did something, and you made a difference.