GALAPAGOS GREEN SEA TURTLE
These turtles are the only marine turtles that nest in the Galapagos, and they get their name due to their algae-only diet which makes their inner tissues green. They glide to all Pacific waters and has been recorded that they can swim as fast as 35 miles per hour.
They are big, weighing up to 800 pounds. Their shells are parts of their skeleton, making a difference with their land cousins that can retract their extremities and necks inside the carcass. Males never leave the ocean; females go to the shores to lay eggs several times a year. They feed on algae, seagrass, and mangrove leaves, while youngsters are experimental eaters occasionally trying shrimp, crustaceans, and jellyfish.
Going on dinghy rides to visitor sites they can be spotted swimming in the ocean in any of our itineraries in the Galapagos Legend and the Coral yachts.
