26.07.2020, Animal Of the Week: Turtle

Hello Everyone,

This week I am investigating the turtle. They have long intrigued me and I hope you will learn a lot from this post. Enjoy!

Habitat:

The turtle is well adapted for aquatic life, with flippers and a streamlined body. Sea turtles only leave the ocean to lay eggs on the beach whereas freshwater turtles live in ponds and lakes, and climb out of the water more regularly.

Diet:

A turtle's diet varies according to the species. Some species are omnivores, eating a variety of plants and animals. However, others are more selective such as the hawksbill turtle, that eats primarily sponges and leatherbacks who eat mainly jellyfish. Some are also carnivore, like the loggerhead, and others herbivore, such as the green turtle.

Dangers:

Unfortunately, turtles are under threat. Nearly all species of turtle are classified as Endangered. Unfortunately, they are captured and killed for their eggs, skin, meat, and shells. Although in most places selling turtle eggs and shells are forbidden, it still happens. Turtles are suffering from being over poached. They face other issues too such as capture in fishing nets and sometimes mistaking plastic for food. Climate change has had an impact on turtle nesting sites, meaning they can struggle to reproduce.

I hope you have learnt a lot about these mysterious and beautiful creatures. If you would like to help save turtles you can make a donation to the turtle foundation here: https://www.turtle-foundation.org/en/donation/

Thank you for reading our second animal of the week post!

Image:

Sea Turtle, owned by Ale Art (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.

Sources:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/facts/sea-turtles
https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/sea-turtle

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