STATUS:
Endangered
COLOR:
various shades of gray, green, brown and black with mottled patterns of markings on its shell
HABITAT:
Coral reefs and rocky shorelines where the algae, or "limu," that they eat is plentiful
RANGE:
Hawaiian Islands
FOOD:
Juveniles eat jellyfish and invertebrates, adults consume algae called "limu" in Hawaiian.
BEHAVIOR:
Spend most of their time in the water; females usually return to the beach where they were born to come ashore and lay eggs, swimming as far as 800 miles from feeding grounds to return to their natal beach.
OFFSPRING:
In late spring, females lay clutches of about 100 eggs. After inclubating for two months, hatchlings head towards the water, facing a high risk of getting lost or eaten. Surviving baby turtles will remain in the ocean for a year before coming ashore.
THREATS:
Predators, poachers, coastal development, disease (particularly fibropapilloma), and drowning from shrimp fisher nets, longlines, driftnets, coastal gill nets, discarded fishing gear and marine debris
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