Green Sea Turtle

The most venerable of Panamanian sea turtles. With its smooth olive-green shell and prehistoric gait, the green turtle arrives each year on Panama's beaches to perpetuate a cycle of millions of years.

Chelonia mydas, the green sea turtle, is one of the largest sea turtles, reaching up to 1.5 meters long and 300 kg. Its smooth, olive-green shell with brown markings distinguishes it from other species. It is the only herbivorous sea turtle as an adult, feeding mainly on seagrasses and algae. Females return to the same beaches where they were born to nest, depositing up to 150 eggs per nest. In Panama, the main nesting beaches are in Bocas del Toro, the Guna Yala region, and the Pacific coast. It is endangered.

Habitat

Coastal waters on both coasts; nests on beaches of Bocas del Toro, Guna Yala, and the Pacific