Did you know…Animals

Did you know…

Animals - Turtles

1. Turtles belong to one of the oldest reptile groups in the world – beating snakes, crocodiles and alligators! 2. Every species of turtle lays their eggs on land. 3. When a sea turtle is resting or sleeping, they can stay underwater for 4-7 hours. 4. Turtles have a built-in compass. As we’ve mentioned before, turtles can return to the same beaches they were born on. 5. Turtles live about twice as long as humans. 6. All tortoises are turtles, but not all turtles are tortoises. 7. Land turtles, more commonly known as tortoises, are shelled reptiles that live on land as opposed to their aquatic counterparts. 8. Tortoises are land animals. Their feet are round and stumpy, adapted for walking on land. They also dig burrows with their strong forelimbs and slip underground when the sun gets too hot. 9. Most species of turtle have five toes on each limb. A few turtle species only have four toes on each limb, and even more uncommonly, three toes on each limb. 10. Leatherback sea turtles have special shells that compress when they deep dive. 11. To the naked eye, it appears turtles don’t have ears. However, behind their skin flaps, turtles have middle ear bones that carry noise vibrations down their ear canals. 12. Turtles come in ALL shapes and sizes. The bog turtle can be as little as 4-inches long, whereas the leathery turtle can weigh up to 1500 pounds! 13. Sea turtles can’t retract their head and flippers into their shells. Only land turtles can withdraw into their shells. 14. Different turtle species have been known to make strange sounds that you wouldn’t expect to come out of a turtle. Some turtles sound like a person burping and some sound like dogs barking. Some turtles sound like an old man yelling, some sound like a remote-control airplane and some even sound like chickens clucking! 15. A turtle shell is made up of 50 bones in the turtle’s skeleton and includes their spine and rib cage.