2. Description
• Medium sized compared to other sea turtles.
• Head comes to a point-giving it a bird-beak shape (this is where it gets its name)
• The top of the shell has many different colors including a dark golden brown, with orange,
red or black lines. These all could be intermixed with each other.
• The bottom is mostly a very light yellow color.
• There carapace is distinguishable from the other sea turtles by its overlapping scales.
• Long ago, this species used to nest in great numbers, now females nest alone for the most
part.
• Many hundreds of years ago, the Hawksbill used to be important to the Romans, Chinese,
Japanese, and other ancient civilizations. They used to make jewelry out of the scale like
scutes that cover its shell.
3. Range
• During different stages of their life, Hawksbill Turtles use certain habitats that change over
time.
• When they are first born, babies will usually occupy the deep sea area, seeking safely from
floating seaweed and other algae. A few years will pass, and the juveniles will begin to move
to areas more suitable for foraging. When the juveniles do this move, they change how they
feed. Before they would feed on small animals and plants floats on the upper layers of the
ocean, now they will go deeper in search of animals more related to the coral reefs. At this
point, Hawksbill will remain near the coral reefs as a food source.
• For some reason, they will go back to the same resting area each night.
• Usually find worldwide within the latitude 30 N and 30 S throughout every ocean. They do
not venture into the Mediterranean Sea however.
• Venture long distances, research shows there migrations can compare to the Loggerhead and
Green Sea Turtles.
4. Reproduction/Nesting
• Nest alone, makes it difficult to gather population data and/or estimates.
• Nesting occurs throughout the world, with the biggest nesting site being Australia. No nesting, however, occurs on
the west coast of the United States, although they have been documented to nest on the islands of Hawaii. Many
nesting sites include those found in the Caribbean, with most happening on Mexico and Cuba. Mexico alone is
home to 2,800 nesting females each year. Scientist estimate that the number of adult females living in the Caribbean
is about 27,000.
• Although many are found in the Caribbean, the majority are found off the coast of Australia. 2,000 Hawksbill turtles
will nest on the Northwest coast of Australia. However, even more will nest off the coast east coast near the Great
Barrier Reef. Roughly 6,000-8,000 will nest here each year. Finally, an estimated 3,000 will nest in the Indonesian
area, including the Republic of Seychelles.
• Females will lay 3-5 clutches of eggs every 13-16 days during a normal nesting year. Each clutch contains an average
of 130 eggs. Taking about 60-90 minutes to complete the nesting cycle, the female will come ashore in the dead of
night. She will find an area usually sheltered by trees or some type of vegetation.
• Without human disturbance, nesting success rates are about 79-92 percent. However, other predators will alter this
number. When the babies hatch, they will weight about .5 oz (14 g), and will enter the world usually in the dark. for
the next 1-3 years, they will float about the open ocean eating algae and small animals that drift past.
5. Threats
• As with all the turtles, this one is also in trouble. This includes both threats from when they
nest to when they are in the ocean. Since these turtles depend so much on the marine life of
coral reef ecosystems, there major threat it the loss of coral reefs. Coral reefs, which have
been in trouble for the past few years, are slowing dying off due to both human activity and
nature causes. This includes global climate change. If coral reefs continue to decline in
numbers, the Hawksbill will have a much tougher time finding food and shelter that is so
desperately needs. Also, as with other sea turtles, people need to become more educated
around the work about these ancient marine animals. There eggs need to be left alone and
not dug up.
• Next, people in the Asian region typically will capture these turtles and use them as both a
food source and merchandise. Human activity is the main reason for the decline in the
number of this species. This includes humans ruining or taking over the nesting beaches
these creatures depend on to lay their offspring.
• Again, this is a worldwide issue. People in Asia need to stop killing these turtles for food and
good to sell. Other countries need to stop destroying or inhabiting the beaches these turtles
require to nest. With the world helping, we can hopefully return this animal to surplus
numbers. But we must start somewhere. We must get the word out.
