Assignment: Sea Turtles FINAL REVISION
Giovanni Lorusso
The most peaceful living thing of all the animal kingdom lives underneath the sea, drifting through the treacherous waters that mother nature has birthed.They are the most ancient and discreet reptiles to have ever survived through all these years, and even avoided being wiped out by the very dangerous dinosaurs. The sea turtle can be traced back to 110 million years ago, belonging to a class know as the testudines, known for their shell which is their protection. The sea turtle's shell is the most important part of its structure. They are soft on the inside and soft on the outside, much like human beings, with our tendency to keep our emotions locked up inside while we exert a tough exterior. The sea turtle's shell encloses all of the turtles organs and is fused together with the rib cage to make a strong impenetrable shield. Probably the first time I thought about the turtle's protective shell was when I was 10 years old. I had a pet turtle, that I let roam the living room floor and one day my father had stepped on his shell involuntary. I immediately placed the turtle back into it's tank, diving head first with it's arms wide open as if nothing had happened; that was when I conceptualized the true strength of the sea turtle. They are the most friendly animals, from the way they drag there floppy feet onto the sandy beaches, to the slow bites they take like an elderly woman eating a salad; it just warms my heart. The sea turtle however can not retract it's limbs or head like other turtles and must avoid extreme danger by going into hiding in such places as reefs or deep below the sea.
Home is a place where you feel safe, comfortable, strengthened, contented and rested, these are somethings that the shell brings to a sea turtle. It's shell is it's greatest strength. Their are only seven species of these remarkable creatures left: the green sea turtle, loggerhead sea turtle, Kemp's ridley sea turtle, hawksbill sea turtle, flatback sea turtle, olive ridley sea turtle and leatherback sea turtle. Some are so friendly they will approach divers and island guests welcoming them to their under water home. They show us no fear by swimming with people, showing us maybe we should step out of our own shells sometimes and take risks. The sea turtle's shell is used as a tray, carrying around a dish full of yummy snacks such as barnacles, algae, and smaller organisms that grow on it for fish and different types of shrimp. Depending on the sea turtle they can be animal eaters, plant eaters or both, and equipped with these strong sharp beaks that can snip away at sea grass, sponges, or even crush crabs. The beak can be very intimidating to predators as a sign of strength. Some sea turtles can grow up to 400-1000lbs!
Sea turtles are hatched into this world on sandy beaches where they race to open waters, avoiding predators such as birds, fish, and raccoons. Life is a struggle as they work twice as hard to find their way to water, escaping human obstacles such as beach chairs, sandcastles, and umbrellas. Nothing in life is easy you must work hard for everything you want whether its to go to college and get that dream job or just to make it safely into the ocean waters without getting eaten. They hatch at night to avoid being spotted easily on land during the day light and fend off another group of marine predators. What a challenge it must be to come into this world and have to immediately begin to run for your life! We are all given chances to make something of yourself just like the baby sea turtles, some of us will make it and some will not. They go into hiding while they are small until they grow big enough to survive on their own. Again, life is a struggle, nothing worth having comes easy but it will all pay off; like a happy living 100 year old sea turtle.
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