Since the time of the dinosaurs, during the past 250 million years, sea turtles have existed in much the same manner they do today.  Of the five species of sea turtles found off the Georgia coast, the Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) is the only one that consistently nests on Jekyll beaches.  Hatchlings that emerge from this year's nests will be the same turtles that come ashore at night to nest as adults.

Every two to three years during the months of May through August, a nesting female emerges from the surf, crawls to the base of the sand dunes, selects a nesting sight, and digs a nest cavity 12-18 inches deep.  Each Loggerhead lays an average of 125 eggs per clutch as many as 8 times a season!  After the turtle finishes covering her nest she makes the return trek back to the sea.

Once the turtle has laid her eggs, she never returns to protect them.  While the eggs incubate for an average of 57 days, they may become victim to predation by ghost crabs, raccoons, dogs, hogs, humans, and a variety of other predators. After the hatchlings emerge from the nest in one group, they use visual cues, such as light, the sound of the surf, and instinct to find their way to the sea.  The sad reality is that only 60-90 percent of the eggs laid actually hatch; only one out of every 100 hatchlings will live to adulthood.

The ocean is an even more treacherous place for these baby turtles.  The first few months of life are the most dangerous for them because many fish, birds, and other predators find them a delicious meal.

The lucky survivors spend the first seven years of life in the Sargasso Sea in the mid of the Atlantic Ocean, where they feed and grow awaiting the time when instinct tells them to return to the shallow waters of the coast.  During their next stage of life, as juveniles, they inhabit the estuaries and coastal waters where they feed on a variety of mollusks, fish, crabs, jelly fish and other marine invertebrates.

As adults, the turtles mate in the warm, shallow, coastal waters.  Male turtles never return to shore after they hatch; the only time females return is to nest.