Answers to some questions!
Dear Students- some of you have posted questions, I will do my best to answer them but I am currently having trouble finding some of your posts- If you don't find an answer to your question please resend it.
Q1. How many baby turtles does mommy turtle give birth to?
A1. Actually the mommy turtles lay eggs, they do not give birth to live turtles. Each turtle will nest about 5-13 times a season- at about 10 day intervals. Once a turtle has a nesting season she will not return to nest again for about 2 or 3 years. Each nest has about 40-80 eggs in it and about 1 in every 100 eggs is thought to survive and mature to adulthood.
Q2. Are leatherback sea turtles the most endangered turtles.
A2. Yes I believe they are, if not they are a close second.
Q.3 Why do turtles go to the same beach as the one they were born at to lay their eggs?
A3. Some researchers believe that hatchlings get information from the scent of the sand or sensation of the sand on their flippers from their natal beach. This may help give them cues on where to return and lay their own eggs.
Q.4 Do the leatherbacks suffer from cancer or tumors.
A.4 Actually tumors are common in green turtles another species of sea turtles. The cancer and tumors have not been spotted in leatherbacks. The movie some of you saw in class was about sea turtles in general. There are several different species of sea turtles. Leatherbacks are just one type.
Great questions everyone--keep them coming!
posted by Jennifer Seshadri @ 1:24 AM
8 Comments:
Watching the hatchlings was such a treat! Tanya will be in touch as to how we can make it accessible to students without using YouTube in school.
I also was glad you clarified that the turtles lay more than one cluster or whatever the word was of eggs in a season. I felt stupid wanting to ask that and I know some people thought they just came up to the beach once in a season.
Keep up the great work!
Susan J
Questions from Class IM:
1. How much do the hatchlings weigh?
2. Why don't the leatherback sea turtles lay their eggs in the water? What would happen to the eggs if they were placed in the water? Would the eggs float or sink?
3. Do leatherback sea turtles have to be a certain age before they lay eggs?
4. Do the mothers leave the eggs? If so, do they ever meet again?
5. Do all female leatherback sea turtles lay eggs?
We wish you all a safe trip back!
Thank you for answering our questions.
Question from Class KP:
Did you name your leatherback sea turtles for the race?
Thank you!
hi ms seshadri! i have a question. i missed school because i have a sinus infection do turtles get sinus infections? if so, do they get grumpy?
So many great questions- let me see if I can give you some answers-
Class 1M-
1. Hatchlings weigh about 45 grams or so.
2. I would assume leatherbacks don't lay their eggs in the water because that would increase the chances of them being found by a predator. The eggs spend about 60 days buried in wet sand and rely on the moisture and oxygen in the sand, as well as a certain temperature range for proper development.
If eggs were placed in water they would probably sink, they appear to be more dense than the sea water but I am not 100% sure about that one.
3. Leatherbacks are about 10 to 15 years old before they can lay eggs.
4. Yes, the mothers leave the eggs, once she creates the nest and lays they eggs she no longer has any connection to the eggs or would be hatchlings.
5. All female leatherbacks that are healthy enough and mature enough should be laying eggs.
Class KP
I did name my turtle for my race-
Mario - after Mario Andretti a racecar driver, Mrs. O'Doherty named hers Michael Schumacher after a different driver.
Oona-
I will ask the researchers if they have stumbled across any grumpy sniffling turtles, but I don't think they have been collecting that kind of data.
Feel better!
Thanks for the great questions everyone!
When you say they nest what do you mean by that?
Good morning, Mrs. Seshadri,
We figured you must be sleeping right now, since you were up all night hanging with the turtles. Thank you so much for answering our questions. We have a few more for you.
1. How long does it take for all of the eggs to hatch?
2. Do all leatherback sea turtles lay eggs on one beach in Costa Rica?
3. Why do you put satellites on the sea turtles backs?
Thanks for answering the Lower School girls' questions, Jen. They were extremely excited to hear back from you. I hope you are enjoying your trip!
Jen G.
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