Caretta caretta

Conservation status

International: ‘Endangered’ [World Conservation Union]

Description

Adults: Carapace brown often highlighted with light brown, reddish-brown and black; plastron yellow; distinctive large head; thick jaws for crushing crustaceans and molluscs; carapace ~ 1.0 m

Hatchlings: Dark brown carapace; light brown plastron

Distribution and habitat

Found on coral reefs, and in bays and estuaries in all tropical and sub-tropical oceans.

Diet

Loggerhead Turtles are mainly carnivorous, feeding on benthic molluscs, crabs, sea urchins, shellfish and jellyfish.

Breeding

Nesting season – Australia: In Queensland, from late October to early March. Hatchlings emerge late December until early April.

Years between breeding 3-4 years

Average clutch size ~125 eggs

Average hatching success ~80%

Breeding areas – Australia

Two major breeding areas:

• In Queensland - mainly in the southern Great Barrier Reef, Wreck, Erskine and Tryon Islands, Wreck Rock Beach and Price Cay, and the mainland near Bundaberg. Nearly 95% of nesting sea turtles on the Bundaberg coastline are loggerheads. Eastern Australian nesting beaches support the only significant stock of loggerhead turtles in the S Pacific.
• Western Australia - around Murion Island and Shark Bay.

Main threats

Incidental capture in fishing and shark control program gear; predation by feral foxes and pigs; coastal development; ingestion of synthetic material; boat strike; tourism; increased incidence of disease.

Loggerhead Turtle populations have declined 50-80% since the 1970s. Their long maturation and low reproductive rate mean they are at serious risk of extinction from any increase in death rates. An annual loss of only a few loggerheads could result in extinction of the Queensland population.

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