1. How many species of sea turtles are there in the world? There are seven species of sea turtles in the world
2. Name the sea turtles found in India.
The Olive Ridley, the Hawksbill, the Green Sea Turtle, the Loggerhead and the Leatherback are found in India.
3. Which is the largest sea turtle? Which is the smallest one? The Leatherback is the largest sea turtle. The Olive Ridley is the smallest one. 4. Where do sea turtles live? Sea turtles live in the oceans but they come ashore to lay eggs.
5. What is ‘mass nesting’ or Arribada? On certain nights thousands of female sea turtles come ashore simultaneously. They lay their eggs on particular beaches. This is called mass nesting or Arribada.
6. What are the threats to the eggs of sea turtles? The local people collect the eggs for eating, Jackals, dogs and pigs cat the eggs.
7. What are the dangers that await the hatchlings of sea turtles? Many hatchlings fall prey to crabs or birds. Most of them that reach the water are eaten by predators.
8. What are the things that threaten the survival of sea turtles? People hunt the sea turtles for their meat. They also collect their eggs for eating. Some sea turtles are trapped in the nets of motorboats. Pollution thrown into the sea and construction activities on nesting beaches hurt their survival.
9. What do you know about sea turtles in general? Sea turtles live in the oceans. But they come ashore to lay eggs. There are seven species of sea turtles. The Olive Ridley, the Hawksbill, the Green Sea Turtle, the Loggerhead and the Leatherback are found in India. The Leatherback is the largest sea turtle and the Olive Ridley is the smallest one.
10. What is mass nesting or Arribada. On certain nights thousands of female turtles gather. They come ashore at the same time. They lay their eggs on particular beaches. This strange happening is known as mass nesting or Arribada. In our country it takes place in Odisha.
11. How does the female turtle lay its eggs? Female turtles come ashore at night. Using their flippers they move on the beach. Each turtle scoops a nest cavity. It lays about 100 eggs into it. Then it hides the eggs by filling them with sand. After that all the female turtles return to the sea. The eggs are left to incubate in the warmth of the sun.
12. Describe how the eggs of the sea turtle hatch. The eggs of the sea turtle hatch 45-60 days later. The eggshell is leathery. The hatchlings slash open it. For that purpose the hatchlings uses its egg-tooth. The egg-tooth is like a razor blade. It is the eggs of the hatching’s snout. When the eggs are hatched the hatchlings make a hurried dash to the sea.
13. What are the threats to the survival of sea turtles? People hunt the sea turtles for meat. They also collect their eggs. Sometimes the turtles are trapped in the nets of motorboats. Pollution and dumping of plastics into the ocean threaten their survival. Construction activities on nesting sites pose a threat to the survival of sea turtles.
II. True or False
1. Turtles are different from tortoises. True
2. Turtles are sea animals. True
3. There are seven kinds of sea turtles in the world. True
4. Sea turtles are very small. False 5. Turtles come ashore to lay eggs. True
6. Sea turtles come to rest on land. False
7. Olive Ridleys are the only sea turtles seen on Indian shores. True 8. Female Olive Ridleys come ashore at night to lay eggs. True
9. The eggs of an Olive Ridley are in the shape and size of a cricket ball. False
10. Ridleys come to lay their eggs in the month of January. True
11. The turtles use their flippers and make a hollow for their nests. True 12. The hatchlings use a tiny egg-tooth to come out of the eggs. True
III. Fill in the table given below: S.No Problems faced by the hatchlings Effect Solution
1 Pollution Survival of sea turtles becomes difficult. Reduce the usage of plastics.
2 Predators Eggs and hatchings are destroyed. Provide fences to keep off animals.
3 Human Activities Eggs, hatchlings and turtles destroyed. Take steps to prevent pollution and construction in nesting sites. The nesting sites should be made protected site.
IV. Choose the correct answer. If may choose more than one answer if needed.
1. The _________ is a biological relative of tortoises. a. sea turtle b. fish c. reptile
2. In India’s coastal waters we can see a species of ________
a. tortoises b. sea turtles c. dolphin 3. Sea turtles come to the shore to_________ a. visit their birth places b. lay eggs c. go back to sea
4. It is a problem for sea turtles to come ashore because _________. a. they find it difficult to walk on sand b. they don’t know their way to the shore c. animals and people hunt them
5. A sea turtle camouflages its nest by tossing sand on it to _________. a. hide its eggs from predators b. incubate eggs in the warmth of the sun c. keep the hatchlings safe.
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