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These are some reasons hatchling turtles don't survive to swim in the ocean.

1. Many of them are eaten by birds, dogs, jackals, and other predators, while making their way to the ocean.

2. Also, they may never make it out of their shell or the nesting site, either they can not work themselves free, and become exhausted, or their nesting site is disturbed during incubation, and the growth cycle interrupted.

3. Natural Destruction like flood, beach erosion, even storms such as hurricanes can collapse the nest site and destroy the eggs.

4. Strong artificial illumination too close to the nesting beaches which completely disorients the hatchling's instinctive ability to find the ocean.

5. Harvesting of eggs by humans for sale on the market.

6. Degradation, transformation and destruction of natural conditions at nesting beaches by coastal developments.

7. People driving, camping, and even playing on the beach can collapse nesting sites, destroying all the eggs, without anyone even being aware of it.

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14y ago
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14y ago

They probably get eaten by their predators such as birds or run over by beach vehicles.

Baby turtles often die before reaching the sea because predators have been watching quietly as the baby sea turtles start to come out of their eggs. Of course the predators are much faster than the sea turtles because:

  1. They are new born
  2. It is quite hard for sea turtles to travel on land since they have flippers

Also, sea turtles sometimes get eaten while they are still in their eggs. Once the mother has gone (she leaves after laying her eggs), the predators arrive an gobble up a few eggs, sometimes even quite a lot!

I understand that recently, scientists discovered entire colonies out in the ocean made up of sea turtles. It appears that they swim out to sea and 'hang around' with their own kind, possibly for years, getting bigger and stronger before leaving to face life on their own. Safety in numbers!

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Q: Why do most baby sea turtles die before reaching the sea?
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