Turtles

Sea turtles occur throughout the world, with five species occurring along the South African coastline. These amazing animals are reptiles that have adapted to living in the water. Their limbs are flipper shaped and their shell is flattened from top to bottom for easy swimming. Sea turtles breathe air and by wedging themselves between rocks they stay motionless, enabling them to stay underwater for long periods of time. By feeding on different food types, different species of sea turtles do not compete for food, and therefore do not compete with each other. Sea turtles migrate to breed. They travel 1000's of kilometers to return to the beach where they were born, to lay their eggs. The sex of the eggs is determined by the temperature of the sand in which they lie buried.