Jordan Madison, Ho-Ho-Kus Public School
Bergen County
Atlantic Green Sea Turtle
Why should some one save me? I am just some animal. There are lots of animals in the world, why save me? There are lots of animals that are endangered, but not all of them have a chance of not becoming endangered.
Hi! I'm Atlanta the Atlantic green sea turtle. I am also known as the Chelonia mydas. I live in the Atlantic Ocean including off the coast of New Jersey. My species is being threatened. So, most of my friends are gone. I need your help to bring my species back.
I will tell you some important facts about me, so maybe you will want to help me. The maximum weight that we can weigh is 440 pounds. The life span of a turtle is about 100 years. We spend most of our time in shallow coastal water, so you should try to find me some day. When we are young we are omnivores. At our nesting stage we are herbivores.
One challenge we face is beach construction. The beach construction trucks sometimes fender out of control. Beach construction is very noisy. When people do beach construction it squishes our eggs. Ewww! What's that stench? Another challenge is pollution and trash on the beach and in the water. When I swim through the water, I feel the hard garbage cross my face. Sometimes when I am swimming I see other turtles getting trapped in fishing gear.
There are lots of ways that people can help us. One way is instead of throwing your garbage in the water, throw your trash in the garbage can. Another way is to not do beach construction near the water because that is where we nest. Also, shut off your light at night please if you live at the beach because it scares us away.
Please help my species! Spread the word, make sure everyone helps. We are important too! I am a loving creature in the sea. It will be very sad if we become endangered. I hope you learned a lot about my species, and I hope that you want to save me!
Jordan Madison
Ho-Ho-Kus Public School
Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ
Mrs. Lepori