Breeding

Male Green Sea Turtles return to the area that they were born annually for the mating process. Although the female Green Sea turtle may have many breeding sites, so they only breed every 2 - 4 years instead of annually. The Green Sea Turtle will share feeding sites with other Green Sea Turtles even if they come from a different breeding site, the Green Sea Turtle does not breed and feed at the same site. Due to human interaction Green Sea Turtle numbers have declined, so there are many areas that are prohibited. This enables the Green Sea Turtle to breed and there is less chance of them being killed or their eggs damaged. The female Green Sea Turtle can lay between 100 - 200 eggs, she does this buy burrowing into the sandy beaches of one of her breeding sites.  The female Green Sea Turtle drags herself up onto the beach and using her front flippers digs a hole where she lays her eggs. The leathery eggs will stay in the nest for two months before they hatch. However neither the mother or father stay with the eggs.  Baby Green Sea Turtles are called Hatchling's, once they have broken out of their eggs they make their journey to the ocean. This can be quite dangerous as they have no defense against predators. Not much is known about the Green Sea Turtle from age 0 - 6 years, however they do continue to grow and reach sexual maturity at 26 years of age. Which is when the breeding process starts all over again. 