Through my marine conservation class, we went on a field trip to the nearby city of Naples. In Naples we visited a sea turtle hospital where injured sea turtles go to get help and to recover. At the sea turtle hospital, we got to learn more about sea turtles, and then we got to see the sea turtles, themselves! The sea turtles are kept in individual tanks while they recover, before they are released back into the sea.
The Loggerhead Sea Turtle grows to around 2.5-3.5 feet. When the turtles are first born, their shells have spikes along the back to help defend the animals against predators while they are still young and therefore vulnerable to predators. As the turtle grows up, it loses those spikes in favor of a more hydrodynamic shape. This means that without the spikes, the smoother shell makes the sea turtles swim faster through the water. Something fun about the Loggerheads is they have a print on their heads that is unique to each turtle and can be used to tell them apart, much like how humans each have unique fingerprints. We also learned how to tell the difference between a male and female Loggerhead based on its claw - yes, sea turtles have claws, which I didn't know before - as well as the length of its tail - a longer tail indicates a male.
