Off the eastern coast of Madagascar lives a hawksbill sea turtle. She has a cute, pointed beak
and long, flat front flippers with dark, checkered spots. Her big eyes search the ocean as she looks
for her next meal on the coral reef. This is where she often finds sea sponges, which are a favorite.
When she can't find sea sponges to eat, she looks for tasty jellyfish or anemones. Since the food is
best in the shallow coastal waters, she doesn't like to swim in the deeper parts of the ocean.
Weighing about 50 kilograms, or 110 pounds, this sea turtle is pretty average in size.
She has a soft flat carapace and is about 76 centimeters, or 30 inches, long. The carapace
is oval-shaped with beautiful patterns, and a yellow plastron protects her belly.
Her legs are actually flippers that help her swim very well. But, they make crawling on land
quite difficult and they cannot be retracted into her shell. Hawksbill sea turtles are thought to
live about 30 to 50 years. At 25 years of age, this hawksbill sea turtle has reached maturity
and instinct tells her to swim back to the beach where she hatched. She climbs out of her
ocean home and up the sandy beach and finds a place that feels just right for making a nest.
She clears the space using her front flippers. Then, using her back flippers, she digs a hole
where she will place about 140 of her small leathery eggs. This group of eggs is called a
clutch. Each egg holds a tiny baby sea turtle. She covers the nest with sand, grass, and other debris
for protection, and then she slowly crawls back out into the surf. The sea turtle's eggs--the size
and shape of ping pong balls--stay covered in the nest protected from predators for almost 60 days.
One moonlit night, the hatchlings begin to break out of their shells
using a small tooth called a caruncle located on the stout. These tiny hatchlings have heart-shaped
flat shells that contain streaks of brown and black over a yellow-orange background.
All the baby turtles in the clutch work together to uncover the nest and head out to sea.
Following the light of the moon reflecting off the water, they know which way to go. The darkness
cloaks the tiny turtles from the birds and other predators that could harm them in their journey to
their new watery home. Once safely off the beach, these tiny, baby sea turtles enter the ocean
and begin what is called a swimming frenzy. They swim as quickly as possible, sometimes for
several days, away from the shoreline and hungry predators waiting there. They swim out to sea
and eventually seek out coral reefs where they can eat and grow. Sadly, many will not make it to
maturity. They may be eaten by predators or harmed by fishnets or pollution. Like their mother,
the females of the clutch who reach maturity will one day return to these coastal waters
as they seek the family nesting grounds and the amazing cycle of life will begin all over again.