81 Baby Sea Turtles At SeaWorld

November 18, 2009

By system

Sea turtles have long been endangered or threatened and there are only seven species of sea turtles left in the world, as a result of hunting and pollution. Then again the population of sea turtles just jumped at San Diego’s SeaWorld.

In October 82 eggs hatched.. Before this the last successful hatching took place at SeaWorld in 2003 but there were merely 21 sea turtles. Park staff had incubated the eggs to try and amplify the chances of hatching and after 21, staff felt they were successful.

Anyway this time around the Park Staff opted not to incubate them and let mother nature do its thing. The baby sea turtles hatched on Shipwreck Beach without any assistance from park staff. On October 5 the turtles made their way out of ping pong sized eggs.. Since, the babies have been gradually developing and will be on display at the park before 2010.

Because so many eggs hatched this year at SeaWorld the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will determine whether the new turtles stay at SeaWorld and if the turtles will be allowed to breed again next year. There are already 30 adult sea turtles at the park including three green females and one male. These adults vary in age between 40 and 50 but they usually live to be over 100 years.

These turtles are in their peak for reproduction which means the park doesn’t know if these baby turtles are from the same mother or several. All three females had buried eggs in the sand on the beach. So in order to determine who the mother is, the baby sea turtles will be undergoing hereditary testing. Staff will also be digging up Shipwreck Beach in order to see how many eggs failed to hatch.

Not much is known about sea turtles but experts know they mate in the water, then go up onto the sand. While on the sand the female will dig three separate holes in order to fool predators but they end up laying their eggs in a single hole.

The nest in the sand generallycan hold between 100 and 120 eggs. Then the eggs develop in the sand for three months. While the eggs are incubating, the temperature of the sand determines the gender of each baby.. The babies when they hatch only weigh a few grams but can weigh in at 250 pounds by the age of 20. The babies diet consists of squid, krill, shrimp, and special pellets provided by SeaWorld staff.

Although there are only seven species of sea turtles and they are all endangered or threatened; these babies will help make a rebound. Since humans are the major problem for this species it will take a lot for them to be removed from the endangered list but sea turtles are gradually making their way back.

Diane Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Utah. She likes to write about the news, politics, online degree programs, Continuing Education, and the college experience.

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