Kids Page
Did you know that sea turtles swim in the sea around Bonaire? It’s true! And there is not just one kind. We have three kinds of sea turtles that like to swim in our waters. If you look carefully, you can see the differences.
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Hawksbill turtles
Hawksbill turtles have a pointed face, and if you look at the outside of the shell, toward the back of the turtle, you will see more points.
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Green turtles
Green turtles have round faces, and at the back of their shells you will see that the shell’s edge does not have points. The edge is smoother.
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Loggerhead turtles
Loggerhead turtles have very large heads. Their shells are often partly covered with barnacles or algae.
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Breathing
Sea turtles can not breathe under water like fish. Sea turtles are reptiles and all reptiles breathe air. When they go under water, they must hold their breath, and sea turtles are very good at that!
Some turtles can hold their breath for more than an hour. How long can you hold your breath? Ten seconds? Half a minute? You can do something important to help care for sea turtles!
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Clean up litter, and always put your litter into a garbage can
Plastic bags that float in the sea look a lot like jellyfish. Sea turtles love to eat jellyfish! And they will eat plastic bags by mistake, thinking they are delicious jellyfish snacks. But plastic makes sea turtles very sick. So put litter where it belongs – into a garbage can – so it will never blow into the sea.
Add some color to your sea turtles!
Click here to print your own coloring plate. Thanks to “Sea Turtles, A coloring book in English and Spanish” from The Ocean Conservancy.