2019 Marine Turtle Report
2019 Escambia County Marine Turtle Nest Monitoring Report

• Greens are also one of the larger marine turtles: adults can be up to 4 feet long and 350 lbs.
• Greens are the only turtle that are strict vegetarians as adults; their diet is entirely made of seagrasses and algae. All that plant matter turns their fat green, which is where they get their name!
• Greens are the second most common visitor to our beaches, with a few nests each year. Like most turtles, they can be found in tropical and subtropical waters world-wide. 

• Kemp's Ridleys are the smallest sea turtles: adults average just 2 feet long and 150 lbs
• Kemp's are also the rarest sea turtles in the world: they're only found in the Gulf Coast states, Mexico and portions of South America. Escambia County has seen Kemp's Ridley nests in both the 2018 and 2019 season. 
• Kemp's are the only day-time nester. They've also been recorded nesting in large groups all at once, called arribadas. While scientists aren't exactly sure why, it's thought larger numbers provide protection from predators. 

• Leatherbacks are the largest living sea turtle: adults average 6 feet long and up to 1000 lbs!
• Leatherbacks also lack a hard shell. Like their name suggests their "shell" is a flexible, leathery membrane.
• They're favorite prey is jellyfish and other soft-bodied organisms. Their mouths are lined with backwards-facing spikes to help hold onto soft, slippery prey.