10 interesting things about Caretta carettas!

As you know, Fethiye is one of the caretta carettas’ living areas. They are really special animals and in danger of extinction, unfortunately. So how much information do we have about them? 10 interesting things about the caretta carettas, here they are!

1.They are very old!

Caretta carettas is the oldest reptile species which began to live in the sea instead of land. When the world was only one continent, they were living in the World. The oldest fossil of caretta carettas which is known belongs to 150 million years ago.

2.Their best activitiy is travelling!

These beautiful animals can cover ground more than 15.000 km in one year.

3.They are loyal animals! They do not forget their origins.

Caretta carettas are loyal to their beach they was born. They always come back their beach to spawn.

4.They have lung but they can hold their breath.

They can stay under the sea for four hours.

5.They can be huge!

A normal caretta caretta is avarage of 70 – 140 kg. Their shell height can be up to 1 meter. According to saying, some caretta carettas’ weight can reach 450 kg.!

6.Baby caretta carettas begin to walk immidiately when they are born.

Also, approximately only one of 1000 baby caretta carettas can reach to adulthood stage.

7.Male caretta carettas spend their whole life in water.

8.They sometimes cry!

They do not always cry for being sad. Sometimes female caretta carettas’ spawn time can takes hours that is why they shed tears. On the other hand, they use their tears to remove excess salt from their bodies.

9.Their genders changes according to wheather conditions!

The gender of caretta carettas can change during the time they are in the egg. For instance, female ones are born in hot weather and male ones are born in cool weather.

10.They are in danger of extinction and there is law regarding spawning beaches.

Caretta carettas hatch and they find the sea with following moonlight. If there is another light source around, they can get lost. Because of this, settlements should be established far away from spawning areas. Also, people are not allowed to enter these areas at the nights.