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Adult shell lengths range in size from 36-43 inches and weights average 200-300 pounds. The head is small in comparison to the other sea turtles and the biting edge of the lower jaw is serrated. The green sea turtle is a medium to large brownish sea turtle with a radiating or mottled pattern of markings on the shell. They are rehabilitated as part of the aquarium's Marine Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation program. Each winter, several cold-stunned turtles are rescued from Cape Cod beaches and taken to the New England Aquarium. Frigid water temperatures reduce the turtles' body temperatures below normal and they wash ashore in a condition called "cold-stunned." This type of stranding is not unusual and happens to loggerhead and ridley sea turtles. Scientists think that migration, distribution, and current patterns may influence these entrapments. This can occur when a turtle becomes trapped in northern waters during the winter months. Stranding is common problem among sea turtles in the northern Atlantic. The loggerhead, green and olive ridley sea turtles are listed as threatened. The hawksbill, Kemp's ridley, and leatherback sea turtles are listed as endangered under the ESA. Breeding populations of olive ridley sea turtles on the Pacific coast of Mexico are listed as endangered. These are the green, hawksbill, Kemp's ridley, leatherback, loggerhead and olive ridley sea turtles. are protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Are sea turtles endangered?Ī loggerhead turtle swimming in the ocean.Īll six species of sea turtles in the U.S. Just how sea turtles find their nesting beaches is unknown. Often sea turtles must travel long distances from their feeding grounds to their nesting beaches. Scientists believe that nesting female turtles return to the same beach on which they were born. Where do sea turtles breed?Īlthough sea turtles live most of their lives in the ocean, adult females must return to land in order to lay their eggs. When they are resting, they can remain underwater for as long as 2 hours without breathing. When they are active, sea turtles must swim to the ocean surface to breathe every few minutes. How long can sea turtles stay underwater? On rare occasions, ocean currents have swept ridleys as far as Europe. Ridley turtles live in the waters of the North Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. Their nesting areas have dwindled to a single beach near Rancho Nuevo, Mexico. They have declined significantly in recent years due mainly to predation and poaching. They nest in large numbers known as "arribadas." It weighs between 80-100 pounds and the mature adult is an olive green color.

The Kemp's ridley turtle is the rarest of all sea turtles. A Kemp's ridley turtle swimming in its tank at the Woods Hole Science Aquarium during rehabilitation.