I hate getting asked “What’s your favorite animal?” because it’s just so hard to choose. There are so many amazing options out there. I mean I love penguins. I think they’re cute, funny, and interesting. I also love dogs and cats. They’re both funny, cute, and treat you with affection (at least some of the time). And then there are foxes. They’re almost in between dogs and cats and are extremely amazing. I could go on and on but do you see how I can’t just pick one?
Well, If I had to pick one, it would be the Sea Turtle. These guys are just so majestic. They’re beautiful and the complex patterns on their shells and skin really captivate me. I think my love for Sea Turtles really flourished when I saw one while diving. I took a vacation to Aruba during the summer of 2021. It was my first time out of the country and was my favorite vacation. One of the plans we had was to go on a snorkeling boat. They basically take you to a couple locations where you can snorkel and jump off the boat into the water and just have a fun time. There were a ton of fish and they told us that if we are lucky, we would see a Sea Turtle. Not only did I see a Sea Turtle, but I saw 4 of them! They said that this was very lucky. One even came within about 10 feet of me! I actually got a video of me seeing the turtle and you can hear my muffled scream through the snorkel. I was shocked and excited that this creature came so close to me! It was a truly magical experience and I think that is why I will say that Sea Turtles are my favorite animal.
I went on for a while about my personal experience with Sea Turtles, so lets get to a couple rapid fire fun facts about them. To start, would you be surprised if I told you that turtles are like flamingos? I was when I found out! The reason they are similar is because they both get color from what they eat. Flamingos get their colors from the shrimp that they eat and Sea Turtles get color from the algae and seagrass they eat. Speaking of their diet, Sea Turtles are one of the only know predators of jellyfish and are able to eat them without being stung!
Earlier, I had explained my experience with Sea Turtles. Many of you may also have experience with Sea Turtles. Many popular beach vacation spots have signs warning of turtle nests on the beach. Turtles will lay their eggs in the sand on beaches and are also a protected species so measures are taken to protect their nests. The fascinating thing about these nests, is that the temperature of the nest will determine what gender of turtles hatch out of the eggs. This is called temperature dependent sex determination and in Sea Turtles, higher temperatures will produce female turtles and male turtles will be produced with cooler temperatures. One final fun fact to leave you all with is that unlike many other turtles, Sea Turtles cannot retract into their shells. I hope you enjoyed hearing my experience with sea turtles plus a couple fun facts about them. Thanks for reading!
I absolutely loved this blog post, and I could comment on every individual fact I learned about sea turtles. First, I want to share your appreciation for the creatures, as I also spent time on a boat in the Caribbean, as I mentioned in a previous blog response. I resonate with your reaction to seeing one so close to you, as there is something quite magical about being in the vicinity of such incredible creatures. I wonder if that is related to the fact that humans are animals themselves. Having written about elephants and ivory poaching in my speech and rhetorical analysis essay, I’ve become even more appreciative of the uniqueness and beauty of diverse animal species, and I love the way you focus your blog on bringing attention to them.
Hi, Dylan! What a cool post! I also find sea creatures fascinating. I had the amazing opportunity to visit a sea turtle rescue center at the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston, and the turtles I saw were just incredible–they’re so majestic! Getting to see them up close while snorkeling must have been amazing. Also, I had no idea that sea turtles got their color from the food they eat–who knew?
I didn’t know many specifics about seas turtles before reading your post, but I definitely feel that I learned a lot just from your short description. I didn’t know that sea turtles gained their coloring from the food they ate! It is extremely upsetting that these friendly creatures are in such danger today, because based on the experiences you detailed, it is apparent how much beauty these animals bring to the vast oceans. Do you know of any specific efforts that are being taken in order to protect sea turtles from further endangerment?
Hey, I thought this post was very interesting and quite wholesome. I also think sea turtles are cute and adorable pets, but after learning some facts about them, I think they are unique too! I didn’t know that they can determine the gender of their babies by the temperature and I think thats cool. If it was up to me and I was a sea turtle, I would have my eggs warm all the time lol. I also like that they are the literal meaning of “you are what you eat” and I think thats very interesting to read. I love this and sea turtles.
Whenever I think of sea turtles, I think of the sea turtles from Finding Nemo. They’re so chill and they just go with the flow. I love the part in the movie when Marlin is talking to the baby sea turtle, learning how to go with the momentum. I also found it interesting that the temperature affect the gender of the turtles. I want to see how turtles use that knowledge. The picture of the turtle eating the jellyfish is so funny; turtles are the only ones keeping the jellyfish in line.