Coastal development has reduced the space available for them to nest, while rising temperatures associated with global climate change is killing the coral reefs they rely on for food. Habitat loss is another serious threat facing hawksbill turtles. These graceful sea turtles are also threatened by accidental capture in fishing nets. Hawksbill eggs are still eaten around the world despite the turtle’s international protected status, and they are often killed for their flesh as well. Though the legal international hawksbill shell trade ended in 1993, trade continues. Tortoise shells have been prized among humans since ancient Egypt and, with their stunning shells, hawksbills are no exception: the International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates that millions of hawksbills have been killed within the last hundred years for the tortoiseshell trade. Like many sea turtles, hawksbills are critically endangered due mostly to human impact. Crabs and flocks of gulls voraciously prey on the young turtles during this short scamper. The most dangerous time of their lives comes when hatchlings make the journey from their nests to the sea. At this stage the turtles retreat to the sea, leaving the eggs, which will hatch in about 60 days. They dig a pit in the sand, fill it with 130 to 160 eggs, and then cover it. The nesting procedure begins when the turtles leave the sea to choose an area to lay their eggs. Every two to five years, female hawksbills return to the beaches where they were born to nest, which normally takes place in shallow waters close to the shore. Like other sea turtles, hawksbills make incredible migrations in order to move from feeding sites to nesting grounds, normally on tropical beaches. Their hard shells protect them from many predators, but they still fall prey to large fish, sharks, crocodiles, octopuses, and humans. Hawksbills are omnivorous and will also eat mollusks, marine algae, crustaceans, sea urchins, fish, and jellyfish.

These highly migratory reptiles help maintain a healthy coral reef ecosystem. They avoid deep waters, preferring coastlines where the sponges they like to feed on are abundant, and sandy nesting sites are within reach. Hawksbill turtles are found throughout the tropical waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. Male hawksbills have longer claws, thicker tails, and somewhat brighter coloring than females. A further distinctive feature is a pair of claws adorning each flipper. The hawksbill turtle’s tapered head ends in a sharp point resembling a bird’s beak, hence its name. Their strikingly colored carapace is serrated and has overlapping scutes, or thick bony plates. While young, their carapace, or upper shell, is heart-shaped, and as they mature it elongates. Not particularly large compared to other sea turtles, hawksbills grow up to about 45 inches in shell length and 150 pounds in weight. Current Population Trend: Decreasing What is the hawksbill turtle?

Seaturtle behavior