You’ve never seen your mother, she’s 1400 miles away, yet you find her every time! Read how.

Perhaps you have seen sea turtles at a zoo or a marine reserve. They are famous for being huge, up to 5 feet long and weighing 350 pounds (the record is 871 pounds.) They are also famous for their longevity, over 80 years in the wild.
Sea turtles are strong swimmers, capable of speeds of 0.88 to 1.4 miles per hour. They are excellent divers as well. Leatherbacks have been recorded diving to depths of 3,280 ft. “Normally, the incredible pressure at such depths would rupture air-filled lungs. However, these turtles are designed to expel the air from their lungs, which collapse. The turtles then use the oxygen stored in their red blood cells and muscles.”
Another problem is the saltwater. Drinking it would kill the turtles if they didn’t have specialized salt glands that empty into the eyes, much like tear ducts, ridding their bodies of excess salt. Who ever thought of that?
Of the 7 species of sea turtle, the Green Sea turtle is the only one that eat plants. They love the grass off the coast of Brazil but they lay their eggs half way across the ocean! Each year from January through April these turtles migrate the 1400 miles from Brazil to Ascension Island which is only 34 miles2 in area. Every two to five years, the female will lay her 100 golf ball sized eggs (3-5 eggs at 12 day intervals) in the sand there, cover them, and then dive in and head back to Brazil. When the babies hatch after about 60 days, they are 2 inches long. The babies must head for the water, usually at night, or be eaten by predators. When they have grown some, they disappear. Wherever they are, they grow for a year, living on small sea creatures. But gradually, as they mature, they become herbivores, dining on algae or seagrasses on shallow flats. Then, one day they show up in Brazil to meet their parents for the first time! The babies will grow slowly, at times not mature until the age of 50. But once they are mature, they too will head for Ascension Island to reproduce.
Who taught the Green Sea Turtle where home is? How does the Green navigate such a distance and never get lost? How do the babies know where to go, having never met an adult? Sounds like marvelous, creative design, don’t you think?