Range

Hawksbill turtles make their home in the world's oceans being found in tropical regions of the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific ocean.

Habitat

These animals can be found around coral reefs and pelagic environments. In some parts of their range they live in mangrove estuaries.

Reproduction

Mating takes place in the ocean with egg laying occurring on land.

Females come to land where they can deposit as many as 160 eggs in their nest. Each season they may nest between 3 and 5 times. Nests are often located high on the beach or among vegetation.

While they produce a large number of eggs most of these do not reach adulthood.

These will be incubated for up to 60 days before the hatchlings emerge and race to the ocean.

Often a female will return to the same nesting beach where she hatched.

At birth the young have a heart-shaped shell which takes on the elongated shape of the adults as they age. They are mostly brown in color when they are young.

Sexual maturity is reached around 30 years old. Most individuals will breed once every two years.

Behavior

These animals are less mobile than other turtle species. Often they have a home reef where they spend much of their adult years.

Almost their entire life is spent in the ocean. Females will go on land to lay eggs.

Predators and Threats

These animals are responsible for the popular tortoiseshell pattern which has become popular in consumer goods. This has created a high-demand for this species to be hunted. Their eggs may also be targeted.

Another threat is bycatch in fishing gear. Often they drown when they cannot surface due to entanglement in this equipment.

In some parts of their range where numbers are reduced they have begun to interbreed with other sea turtle species.

Quick facts

Hawksbill turtles are one of seven marine turtle species.

Today's modern sea turtles are the living relatives of a 100 million year old group of reptiles.