The complete life cycle of a sea turtle - documentary
Summary
TLDRDeep Blue Discovery explores the remarkable life cycle of sea turtles, from their perilous journey from nest to sea as hatchlings to their adulthood, spanning a century. The video captures their struggles with predators, pollution, and human interference. It highlights their navigational prowess using Earth's magnetic field and the importance of conservation efforts for these endangered species.
Takeaways
- đą Sea turtles have been on Earth for 110 million years and use the Earth's magnetic field for navigation.
- đ They have an average lifespan of a century and can travel vast distances across the globe.
- đŁ The life cycle of sea turtles begins with a perilous journey from the nest to the sea, facing predators like seabirds and crabs.
- đ± Baby sea turtles, or hatchlings, are born with a special egg-breaking tooth called a 'currancle' to aid in hatching.
- đ Only one in a thousand sea turtles survives to adulthood, highlighting the many dangers they face.
- đ Sea turtles are found on beaches all over the world, from Kenya to Zanzibar and Australia.
- đ« Human interference, such as touching the turtles, can negatively impact their survival chances.
- đŸ Pollution, including human waste and abandoned fishing gear, poses a significant threat to sea turtles.
- đ After hatching, sea turtles enter a period known as 'the lost years,' where they are difficult to track and many are preyed upon.
- đœ Most sea turtles are carnivorous, enjoying a diet that includes jellyfish.
- đ Adult sea turtles can return to their birth beach to lay eggs, using the Earth's magnetic field to guide them.
Q & A
How long have sea turtles been on Earth?
-Sea turtles have been on Earth for 110 million years.
What do sea turtles use to navigate the globe?
-Sea turtles use the planet's magnetic field to navigate the globe.
What is the average lifespan of a sea turtle?
-The average lifespan of a sea turtle is a century.
What is the significance of the beginning of a sea turtle's life cycle?
-The beginning of a sea turtle's life cycle is famous for being one of the most challenging and fascinating in the animal kingdom, starting with hatching and making a dangerous journey to the sea.
What is a currancle and how does it relate to sea turtles?
-A currancle is a special egg-breaking tooth that baby sea turtles use to break free from their eggs when they're ready to hatch.
Why is it important for humans not to interfere when baby turtles are hatching?
-It's important not to interfere because touching their fragile bodies could affect their survival chances, and even the oil from human skin can potentially damage their three-day food package they're born with.
What is the 'lost years' phase in a sea turtle's life?
-The 'lost years' is a period in a sea turtle's life after they enter the water as babies, where they disappear into the deep ocean and are difficult to track, lasting up to a decade before they return to coastal shallows as juveniles.
What are some of the threats sea turtles face during their lifetime?
-Sea turtles face threats such as predation by larger animals, entanglement in abandoned fishing equipment, ingestion of plastic, and the effects of human pollution.
How do sea turtles ensure they return to their birth beach to lay eggs?
-Scientists believe sea turtles use the Earth's magnetic field as a kind of compass to travel thousands of miles and always know where they're going, ensuring they return to their birth beach.
What determines the sex of sea turtle hatchlings?
-The temperature of the sand in the nest determines the sex of the hatchlings, with warmer sand producing a higher ratio of females and cooler sand producing more males.
How often do female sea turtles return to nest?
-Female sea turtles generally return to their birth beach to nest every two to four years during nesting season.
Outlines
đą Sea Turtles' Life Journey
This paragraph introduces the sea turtles, highlighting their 110 million-year existence on Earth and their use of the planet's magnetic field for navigation. It discusses their century-long lifespan and the perilous journey from hatching to reaching the sea, fraught with dangers like seabirds and crabs. The survival rate is low, with only one in a thousand making it to adulthood. The narrative emphasizes the importance of not interfering with the natural process and the impact of human waste and activities on their survival. The 'lost years' of a sea turtle's life are also mentioned, where they disappear into the deep ocean for up to a decade before returning to coastal areas.
đ Predators and Human Impact on Sea Turtles
Paragraph 2 delves into the threats faced by sea turtles, including predation by orcas and sea lions, and the significant dangers posed by abandoned fishing gear and human waste. It showcases efforts by divers to free entangled turtles and the problem of plastic ingestion. The paragraph also discusses the endangered status of nearly all sea turtle species due to human activities over the past 200 years. It further explores the behavior of sea turtles as they mature, their solitary nature, and occasional interactions during feeding or migration. The narrative also touches on their mating habits, with females returning to their birth beaches every few years to lay eggs, guided by the Earth's magnetic field.
đą The Cycle of Life for Sea Turtles
The final paragraph focuses on the life cycle of sea turtles, from hatching to adulthood. It discusses how the sex of the hatchlings is determined by the temperature of the sand and their instinctual rush to the sea. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the longevity of sea turtles, which can live up to a hundred years if they avoid predation and pollution. It also serves as a reminder of the importance of these creatures and encourages viewers to subscribe for more sea life content.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄSea Turtles
đĄMagnetic Field
đĄLifespan
đĄHatching
đĄPredators
đĄEndangered
đĄHuman Waste
đĄLost Years
đĄMating
đĄNesting
đĄConservation
Highlights
Sea turtles have been on Earth for 110 million years.
They use the planet's magnetic field to navigate.
Sea turtles have an average lifespan of a century.
Their life cycle is one of the most famous in the animal kingdom.
The story is told through footage by divers, snorkelers, and the public.
Baby green sea turtles hatch with a special egg-breaking tooth called a currancle.
Seabirds and crabs are predators of baby turtles on the beach.
Only one in 1,000 sea turtles survives to adulthood.
Sea turtles face threats from human waste and abandoned fishing equipment.
An incredibly rare albino turtle was spotted on Castaways Beach, Queensland, Australia.
Sea turtles enter a period known as 'the lost years' after entering the water.
Turtles are solitary creatures and are difficult to track during their early years.
Sea turtles are hunted by larger predators like orcas.
Nearly all seven sea turtle species are now considered endangered.
Sea turtles can sleep on the surface and underwater, holding their breath for at least five hours.
Adult sea turtles reach sexual maturity 10 to 50 years after hatching.
Females return to their birth beach every two to four years to lay eggs.
The temperature of the sand determines the sex of the hatchlings.
It's believed that sea turtles can live to around a hundred years in the wild.
Six of the seven sea turtle species are in trouble, highlighting the importance of conservation.
Transcripts
they've been on earth for 110 million
years
and each one uses the planet's magnetic
field to explore the globe
with an average lifespan of a century
sea turtles see more of the world
than even we can expect to in our
lifetimes
and their long journeys have one of the
most famous beginnings
in the animal kingdom that's what this
episode of deep blue discovery
is all about you're going to see the
life cycle
of one of the most intelligent and
interesting creatures in the ocean
with the story told through footage shot
by divers
snorkelers and ordinary members of the
public
from the largest of all the sea turtles
to the tiniest toddlers on tropical
beaches
this is deep blue discovery
on kenya's mombasa coast these baby
green sea turtles have broken free
when they're ready to hatch they use a
special egg-breaking tooth called a
currancle
the mother as is so often the case in
nature has long since left the nest
unattended
the babies now face a dangerous journey
down the beach
to the relative safety of the sea while
they're on the sand
they're easy pickings for seabirds and
crabs
while some live to be a hundred many sea
turtles don't last a day
and even reaching the sea doesn't
necessarily mean an end to their
troubles
[Applause]
[Music]
one in 1 000 will survive to adulthood
more on that later
it's the same story on warm beaches all
over the world
such as here in northern zanzibar people
often watch and film baby turtles making
this incredible journey
but it's important where possible they
don't interfere
touching their fragile bodies could
affect their survival chances
just the oil from your skin can cause
damage potentially to the three-day food
package they're born with
some people also argue quite reasonably
that nature should simply be allowed
to run its course
but crabs and hungry gulls are sometimes
the least of their problems
in some parts of the world such as here
in rowata roatan honduras
endangered hawksbill sea turtles have to
contend
with human waste these were rescued in
2018
but others around the world haven't been
so lucky
this is a global issue
[Music]
female sea turtles return to their birth
beach later in their lives
this one for example will head back to
ebole italy to lay her own eggs
more on that later too male turtles
however
almost never return to land once they
reach the sea
the survival rate is so low imagine
getting to see this incredibly rare
albino turtle survive the journey
as these people did on castaways beach
in queensland australia
[Music]
[Music]
those that do make it down the beach and
into the water
enter an era of their lives we know very
little about
this time is called the lost years
this turtle might be calmly swimming
around divers off the maldives
but they're a lot more difficult to spot
and track when they're young
once they enter the water as babies they
disappear into the deep ocean
it can be as long as a decade before
they return to the coastal shallows
as juveniles
[Music]
[Music]
turtles tend to be solitary they spend
most of their time submerged
and we can't really track them when
they're small so it's very difficult
to work out where they go and what they
do
that said we can roughly estimate how
many survive to juvenile status
and it isn't many turtles are hunted by
larger predators
for their whole lives
[Music]
off the coast of ecuador this orca
demonstrates
what easy prey turtles are and
[Music]
he's a young guy that's practicing he's
entertaining us
they also fall victim to slightly
smaller predators like sea lions
although to see something like this off
the coast of perth australia
is actually very rare
[Music]
one of the biggest threats to their
survival is abandoned fishing equipment
and human waste here are divers freeing
a leatherback
the largest of all the turtle species
after it got trapped in a ghost
net of mozambique
this sadly is not unusual and divers
regularly encounter turtles entangled
in fishing gear this one was so caught
up
it took scuba diver andrew stonebridge
and the temple adventures team
an hour to free it
[Music]
plastic is another gigantic problem this
juvenile green turtle was filmed
defecating plastic after being caught in
fishing nets off the coast of argentina
thanks to the hard work of vets at the
mundo marino foundation
this one was lucky and was eventually
well enough to be released back into the
wild
due in large part to human activity over
the last 200 years
nearly all of the seven sea turtle
species are now considered endangered
[Music]
despite the threats they face it's still
possible to see and enjoy
these animals in the wild and you're
more likely to see them
from the juvenile years onwards it's
then
that we really get a picture of how
incredible these creatures are
during the remainder of the lost years
as they continue to mature
sea turtles cover some serious ground
scaling the ocean
for as much food as possible
most species are meat-eaters and are
said to really enjoy
jellyfish this footage was captured off
the coast of hook island
australia
and this three turtles jostling over a
jellyfish
off the coast of byron bay
sea turtles remain solitary for most of
their lives
except for one or two species who
regularly see each other at feeding
grounds
or during major migrations
but all species obviously encounter each
other on occasion
here off indonesia we can see two sleepy
green turtles
jostling for the best resting place on
the ocean floor
turtles can actually sleep on the
surface and underwater
because they can hold their breath for
at least five hours
they don't like to share their beds
depending on the species 10 to 50 years
after hatching on the beach
fully grown adult sea turtles reach
sexual maturity
and start to think about mating
generally every two to four years
females will return to their birth beach
during nesting season
scientists think they use the earth's
magnetic field as a kind of compass so
they're able to travel
thousands of miles and always know where
they're going
once a male has fertilized the eggs the
female will head onto the beach
and craft a nest with her flippers and
underbelly
this one interrupted diners in jalisco
mexico
but was sadly put off laying her eggs by
all the activity
it's actually common for turtles to
crawl out of the ocean but decide not to
nest
this is called a false crawl the site
has to be perfect
these animals are built for the sea and
not for the sand
so nesting is exhausting work
once the eggs are laid and the nest
disguised the mother heads back into the
ocean
from that point on the survival of the
soon to be hatchlings
is in the hand of fate and instinct
approximately 60 days later we're on
kenya's mombasa coast
back at the beginning the temperature of
the sand in the nest determines whether
the hatchlings are male or female
with warmer sun producing a higher ratio
of females
and cooler more males their rush towards
the waves gets underway
another of these extraordinary life
cycles
[Music]
it's actually not known exactly how long
sea turtles live in the wild
and it will no doubt vary from species
to species
but it's believed those that avoid being
eaten and the effects of pollution
probably live to around a hundred
worldwide the populations of six of the
seven sea turtle species
are in trouble so it's always worth
remembering
how incredible these creatures are
[Music]
thanks for watching deep blue discovery
if you haven't subscribed yet we'd
really appreciate it
if you hit the subscribe button we'll be
back next week with the best sea life
videos
we can find
Voir Plus de Vidéos Connexes
Sea Turtle Migration Video
How Salamanders Skydive From the Tallest Trees in the World | Deep Look
Endangered baby turtles reach sea with help from Kenyan volunteers | REUTERS
đ°đȘ Kenya sea turtles: Rescuing endangered species | Al Jazeera English
BĂĄo Äá»ng nguy cÆĄ suy thoĂĄi Äa dáșĄng sinh há»c
Adaptasi Makhluk Laut Dalam - 02 Polychaeta #AlamSemenit
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)