Loggerhead sea turtle Facts for Kids

Caretta caretta · kuh-RET-uh kuh-RET-uh

Named for its big head and jaws that crunch crab and clam shells.

🏃 speed: not yet checked
⚖️ 201 to 351 lb91 to 159 kg1
📏 30 in to 3.5 ft76 cm to 1.1 m1 long
🎂 70 years70 years1
🍽️ meat
Needs help (Vulnerable)

The loggerhead sea turtle has a big head. Its strong jaws crack open crabs and clams. Mother turtles lay their eggs in the sand at night.

A loggerhead has a reddish-brown shell and strong jaw muscles for crunching hard-shelled food. Baby loggerheads hatch at night and crawl to the sea. Then they drift on ocean currents and rest in floating mats of seaweed while they grow.

Loggerheads are known for their long journeys, riding ocean currents when young and swimming back to coastal waters when older. Scientists follow them with satellite tags to learn where they travel. Bright lights confuse hatchlings, so beach towns in Florida turn their lights down during nesting season. Volunteers walk the beaches in the morning to find and mark nests, so that they stay safe.

How big is a loggerhead sea turtle?

🧒 our measuring child, 4 ft1.2 m🐢 Loggerhead sea turtle, 3 ft92 cm long

Loggerhead sea turtle in numbers

Length	30 in to 3.5 ft76 cm to 1.1 m1adults
Height at the shoulder	no checked number yet
Weight	201 to 351 lb91 to 159 kg1adults
Top speed	no checked number yet
How long it lives	70 years70 years1
What it eats	crabs, conchs, clams and jellyfish
Where it lives	warm and mild seas around the world, nesting on beaches such as those in Florida
What kind	Reptiles
Is it in danger?	Needs help (Vulnerable)2

A number we couldn’t find on a page we trust says so, instead of guessing.

Wow!

Baby loggerheads float on rafts of seaweed.
Scientists follow turtles with satellite tags.
Beach towns in Florida turn off bright lights so hatchlings find the sea.

Compare the loggerhead sea turtle

Friends and neighbours

Three questions

What does the loggerhead sea turtle eat?

Tiny sea lifeMeatBugs

The answer: Meat. It eats crabs, conchs, clams and jellyfish.

Where does the loggerhead sea turtle live?

OceanFarmSnow

The answer: Ocean. It lives in warm and mild seas around the world, nesting on beaches such as those in Florida.

Which is longer, the loggerhead sea turtle or the cheetah?

The loggerhead sea turtleThey're the sameThe cheetah

The answer: The cheetah. Look at them side by side on the compare stage.

Books about the loggerhead sea turtle, free at the library

Ask a grown-up to tap the button: it shows where to borrow a book about the loggerhead sea turtle for free.

Where these numbers come from

NOAA Fisheries, checked 30 October 2026.
Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.
Wikidata, Loggerhead sea turtle (Q192095), checked 30 October 2026.