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Sea turtles are among the world's most ancient reptiles — they navigated Earth's oceans when dinosaurs still walked the land, 100 million years ago. Seven species exist today, all threatened or endangered. They navigate across ocean basins using Earth's magnetic field, returning to the exact beach where they were born to lay their eggs — sometimes after 20–30 years at sea.
Female sea turtles drag themselves ashore at night, dig a 40–60 cm nest with their hind flippers, lay 80–120 eggs, and return to the sea — never seeing their offspring. Temperature determines hatchling sex: warmer nests produce more females; cooler nests, more males. Climate change is skewing ratios toward 99% female in some populations (Florida loggerheads). Bycatch in fishing gear is the primary cause of sea turtle mortality.
# Top 10 Sea Turtle facts
- 1Sea turtles use Earth's magnetic field to navigate — returning to the exact beach where they were born decades later
- 2Warmer beach temperatures from climate change are producing 99% female sea turtle hatchlings in some populations
- 3Sea turtles have existed for 100 million years — they survived the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs
Fascinating Facts
- ◆Sea turtles use Earth's magnetic field to navigate — returning to the exact beach where they were born decades later
- ◆Warmer beach temperatures from climate change are producing 99% female sea turtle hatchlings in some populations
- ◆Sea turtles have existed for 100 million years — they survived the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs
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