Sea Turtles

An adult Olive Ridley Sea Turtle can weigh up to 100 pounds. A baby Olive Ridley Sea Turtle, however, weighs less than 1 pound.

Here I am holding a 24 hour old Olive Ridley Sea Turtle.

The Olive Ridley Sea Turtle is a threatened animal. There are about 800,000 female Olive Ridley Sea Turtles in the world. However, in places like El Salvador, their numbers have been declining. People are very worried about the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle and all the other sea turtles. There are 7 different species of sea turtles in the world. Four of those 7 species come to El Salvador to lay their eggs. All 7 species are threatened animals, with many of them on the endangered list.

There are many people working in El Salvador to try to save the sea turtles. I was able to support one group called, ATOPLOPC, and was able to release a baby Olive Ridley Sea turtle into the ocean.

People in El Salvador (and many places around the world) used to eat turtle eggs. Some people's job used to be to wait at night for a turtle to lay her eggs and then take the eggs to sell. Now, this is not allowed. In fact, there are laws that say it is illegal to bother a turtle laying eggs or take the eggs. Even though it is illegal, people still steal turtle eggs. In addition to people taking eggs, animals also eat sea turtle eggs. More recently, with climate change, some eggs are cooked before they can hatch because it is too hot.

As you can see, the sea turtle faces many risks. When left in the wild, only 1 in every 1,000 sea turtle eggs will hatch and make it to the ocean. That is why local groups like ATOPLOPC are so important. They work very hard to help the turtles. With their help, over 700 of every 1,000 eggs will hatch and make it to the ocean! I think it is amazing what wonderful things people can do when they work together!

The man who started ATOPLOPC came from a family of turtle egg hunters. Both his grandfather and his dad used to hunt turtle eggs when it was still allowed. He learned all about collecting turtle eggs too. One day, when he was 12 years old, he watched a turtle come on shore and lay her eggs. He thought the turtle was so amazing that he no longer wanted to hunt turtle eggs, but rather he wanted to save them. He has spent his whole life working to save the sea turtles! One person can make a huge difference in the world!

The founder of ATOPLOPC, Francisco, teaches us all about sea turtles. 

In order to help save the turtles, ATOPLOPC volunteers stay up all night and wait for turtles to lay their eggs. After the turtle leaves, they carefully scoop up the eggs and bring them to a special place where they store turtle eggs. They mark each nest of eggs with what type of turtle laid the egg and the date. People watch the eggs all the time to make sure people or animals do not take them. When the turtles hatch, they let people release them into the ocean.

This is where turtle eggs are buried by volunteers. The water bottles tell the volunteers which type of sea turtle laid the eggs and when they were found. 

It is amazing to watch the little sea turtles make their way into the ocean. They automatically know where to go. When these sea turtles grow up, the female turtles will return to the same beach in El Salvador to lay their eggs. In the future, I am sure there will be many more sea turtles!

Baby turtles automatically know which way the ocean is. This year ATOPLOCPC has released over 45,000 baby sea turtles! 

Click here to complete a fact and opinion worksheet all about sea turtles!