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Photo Gallery: Sea Turtles

Female Leatherback at Surf's Edge
Photograph by Brian Skerry
A female leatherback sea turtle heaves herself from the surf at night to nest. Females often return to the same nesting areas where they were born to produce their own offspring.
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Green Sea Turtle
Photograph by Tim Laman
Green sea turtles are reptiles whose ancestors evolved on land and took to the sea to live about 150 million years ago. They are one of the few species so ancient that they watched the dinosaurs evolve and become extinct.
Loggerhead Turtle
Photograph by Joel Sartore, National Geographic
Loggerhead turtles are the most abundant of all the marine turtle species in U.S. waters. But persistent population declines due to pollution, shrimp trawling, and development in their nesting areas, among other factors, have kept this wide-ranging seagoer on the threatened species list since 1978.
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Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle Hatchlings
Photograph by Bill Curtsinger
Unlike other sea turtles, female Kemp's ridley turtles come ashore to lay their eggs in the daylight hours.
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Newly Hatched Leatherback Sea Turtle
Photograph by Susie Post Rust
Leatherback hatchlings make a perilous journey from their nest to the ocean, and are not even safe once they make it. Few survive to adulthood.
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Leatherback Turtle Laying Eggs
Photograph by Michael Nichols
Leatherback sea turtles lay their eggs in nests on shore, where they are vulnerable to scavenging dogs and beach-strolling humans.
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Olive Ridley Sea Turtle
Photograph by Bill Curtsinger
Olive ridleys get their name from the coloring of their heart-shaped shell, which starts out grey but becomes olive green once the turtles are adults. They have one to two visible claws on each of their paddle-like flippers.
Flatback Turtle
Photograph by Jason Edwards, National Geographic
Flatback turtles, such as this one in the Melbourne Aquarium, are native to Australia. Their carapaces can reach up to 39 inches (99 centimeters) long.

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Turtle Expert

Jose Urteaga, Marine Biologist

Urteaga is working hard and fast to save the marine turtle species with an innovative sea turtle conservation program.

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