As the population of earth is growing at an alarming rate, humans, in order to find suitable place to live and survive in this world, are destroying the natural ecosystem with their activities. Due to the activities of human population, many species of animals are in danger of being extinct and they are called endangered species. Loggerhead turtles are in danger of being extinct from the face of the world. Before telling you about that why loggerhead turtles are in danger of being extinct from the face the earth I like to share some interesting information about them.
Normally, they are found in tropical and subtropical coastal areas. They are normally brown to red brown in color with 5 pairs of costal scales on each side. These turtles have a protective covering shell on the body known as Carapace which normally longer than it’s wider. A normal adult is more than 90 cm in length and its weight is about 115 kg in average. They can live to be more than 50 years old. Normally, a female lays about 100 to 126 eggs in each nest and they lay 4 to 7 nest in a single season at interval of 12 to 14 days apart from each other. The newly hatched turtles are about 5 to 8 cm in length and mostly live far out at sea. The older turtles live in water but near to shore. Being carnivores in nature, they mostly feed on shellfish, crabs, sea urchins and jelly fish.
Now let’s talk about the conditions which are responsible for listing the Loggerhead Turtle as threatened species that is in danger of being extinct. The biggest threat is the loss of its nesting habitats which are disturbed due to development on costal areas. Beside this, coastal development and predators of the nest are also another threat to the population of these turtles. The turtles are killed for their delicious meat, beautiful shells and eggs.
In order to protect the population of Loggerhead Turtle from becoming extinct, efforts should be made to protect its nesting places by providing them suitable breeding places that are free from the threats of coastal development and predators. In this context, in Isla Mujeres efforts are being done in order to ensure enough protection to these turtles from the potential extinction from the face of the earth.