Our oceans are home to seven species of sea turtles. These wide-ranging and mysterious creatures are present throughout the world's tropical and temperate waters. Sea turtles hydrodynamic body shape and paddle shaped flippers make them agile swimmers caple of crossing oceans. Though fully adapted to marine life, sea turtles depend on tropical and subtropical beaches to build nests. Scientists are only now beginning to understand the many details of their lives.
All seven species of turtles are endangered or threatened under the U. S. Endangered Species Act primarily due to the impacts of fisheries, illegal harvesting of eggs and sea turtles at nesting beaches, coastal development, and global warming. After living on Earth since the time of the dinosaurs more than 100 million years ago, the survival of sea turtles depends on us. Sea turtles may start to go extinct—perhaps in as little as 10 years—if we do not make significant but simple changes to our behavior.
