Green Sea Turtles

SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium is home to a giant Green Sea Turtle.

Adult Green Sea Turtles are completely herbivorous, apart from when they are young and will occasionally eat small fish and Jellyfish. As adults, they usually feed on sea grasses and algae, which has the effect of turning their body fat green. Hence their name!

Unlike fish, turtles have to breathe air and are often seen in the wild coming to the surface so that they can take in a lungful of air. This, unfortunately, makes them vulnerable to boat strikes.

The Green Sea Turtle may be found in subtropical and tropical seas of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the turtle is that the females will travel thousands of miles across the oceans to lay their eggs on the same beach that they were born on.

Meet Seamour

Seamour came to SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium in February of 2011, after being rescued from a turtle hospital in Florida.

The 100-pound sea turtle represents the dangerous effects of humans on the environment; Seamour's shell was damaged by boat propellers which causes its posterior to bob at the surface of the water.

Because it can’t dive for food or find safety, Seamour cannot return to the wild. To remedy the problem, SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium’s animal care staff has attached weights to its shell to counteract the flotation problem and allow the Green Sea Turtle to swim normally.

As you walk through the Aquarium, keep your eyes open for the Green Sea Turtle with a large, white weight plastered to its shell. Seamour is currently swimming through SEA LIFE Minnesota's Rainbow Reef exhibit, within the 300ft long ocean tunnel!

Turtles only eat fish and Jellyfish when they are hatchlings to build up their immune system.
At full size, Green Turtles are nearly five feet long.
Most Green Turtles come from Ascension Island, a tiny island off the coast of Brazil.

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