What do sea turtles eat?

Each sea turtle species feeds on a specific diet and all lack teeth. Loggerheads feed mainly on hard-shelled organisms such as lobsters, crustaceans, and fish. Green turtles are vegetarian and prefer sea grasses, while leatherbacks feed mostly on jellyfish. Hawksbills have a bird-like beak that is used to cut through soft coral, anemones and sea sponges. Olive ridleys are omnivorous, mostly eating jellyfish, snails, crabs, and shrimp but they will occasionally eat algae and seaweed as well.

Hawksbill turtle eating jelly fish
A hawksbill turtle eating a jellyfish. ©Lauren Arthur.
Green turtle eating sea grass.
A green turtle eating sea grass.
Hungry hungry hawksbill

We can celebrate turtles every day of the week! Happy #TurtleThursday everyone. Did you know that hawksbill sea surtles get their name from the narrow, elongated head that tapers to a beak-like jaw?It allows them to forage in crevices in coral reefs where they feed mainly on sponges but also anemones, soft coral or jellyfish.Sometimes it seems like they get in too deep and even stuck searching for their favourite food!This juvenile hawksbill was filmed by Beth Faulkner during a research dive for the Manta Trust in Laamu Atoll. Neither divers nor a camera can distract this turtle when it's lunch time!#turtle #hawksbill #coralreef #underwater #maldives Pacsafe SEE Turtles Sea Turtle Conservancy National Geographic Six Senses Laamu Fourth Element OceanPositive

Posted by Olive Ridley Project on Thursday, July 5, 2018