Green Hawksbill Turtle

Green Hawksbill Turtle in all its glory.

Not much is known about the life history of Eretmochelys imbricata.(scientific name for Hawskbill). Hawksbills mate biannually in secluded lagoons off their nesting beaches in remote islands throughout their range. Mating season for Atlantic hawksbills usually spans April to November. Indian Ocean populations such as the Seychelles hawksbill population, mate from September to February. After mating, females drag their heavy bodies high onto the beach during the night. They clear an area of debris and dig a nesting hole using their rear flippers. The female then lays a clutch of eggs and covers them with sand. Caribbean and Florida nests of E. imbricata normally contain around 140 eggs. After the hours-long process, the female then returns to the sea. This is the only time that hawksbill turtles leave the ocean.


The baby turtles, usually weighing less than 24 grams (0.85 oz) hatch at night after around two months. These newly emergent hatchlings are dark-colored, with heart-shaped carapaces measuring around 2.5 centimeters (1 in) long. They instinctively walk into the sea, attracted by the reflection of the moon on the water (possibly disrupted by light sources such as street lamps and lights). While they emerge under the cover of darkness, baby turtles that do not reach the water by daybreak are preyed upon by shorebirds, shore crabs, and other predators.

Baby Hatchling going back to sea.

The early life history of juvenile hawksbill turtles is unknown. Upon reaching the sea, the hatchlings are assumed to enter a pelagic life stage (like other marine turtles) for an undetermined amount of time. While hawksbill turtle growth rates are not known, when E. imbricata juveniles reach around 35 centimeters (13.8 in) they switch from a pelagic life style to living on coral reefs. Hawksbills evidently reach maturity after thirty years.
Hawksbill turtles are believed to live from thirty to fifty years in the wild. Like other sea turtles, hawksbill turtles are solitary for most of their lives; they meet only to mate. They are highly migratory. Because of their tough carapaces, adults' only predators are sharks, estuarine crocodiles, octopuses, and some species of pelagic fish.

Adult hawksbill swimming in the ocean

my children and I managed to see a green hawksbill turtle come ashore to lay eggs in 1995.

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