Honu Green Sea Turtle By Micaela D.P Green sea turtles are gentle mammals. The have been alive a long time.. They are older than dinosaurs! Their average years of life for the Green sea turtles is 11-59 years! Their Hawaiian name is Honu. The scientific name is CHELONIA MYDAS.
Habitat Green sea turtles start their life in the sand. Their mothers lay their eggs in a hole they make with their flippers. They lay their eggs and leave. After the eggs hatch, they make their dangerous voyage to the sea. Crabs, sea gulls, and people can snatch turtles (most of the time for food). If they make it safely, they will live their rest of their lives in the ocean and come back to the same beach to lay their own eggs.
Why Endangered? Green Sea Turtles are endangered mostly because of humans. First of all, Honu are constantly caught in fishing nets. Fishermen leave their nets in the ocean to catch fish, but sometimes they catch sea turtles. Secondly, Honu get sick of all the pollution in the ocean. People litter on the beaches and when the high tide comes, it takes all the litter into the ocean. In the ocean, the turtles and other marine life can eat the litter and die. Lastly, almost all baby sea turtles are taken or die on their trip to the ocean. Humans, birds, and domestic animals take them. Humans like to kill the turtles for their shell or for their meat.
What Can We Do? There are many things that adults and children can do to help the Honu. First, we can clean up the beaches. Cleaning up the beaches can reduce the amount of litter the turtle could eat. Secondly, we can protect the baby turtles while they are on their way to the ocean. We can do this by staying away from the turtles while they are on their trip.
Bibliography "Green Sea Turtles." Protected Resources. NOAA Fisheries.n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.fpir.noaa.gov/PRD/prd_green_sea_turtle.html>. "The Hawaiian Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas)." The Hawaiian Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas). N.p., 24 Jan. 2004. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. <http://www.turtles.org/hawgrnd.htm>.
"Why are Sea Turtles Endangered?." Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire. Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2014. <http://www.bonaireturtles.org/explore/whyareseaturtlesendangered/>.
Photo taken by my dad