Instead of a teddy bear, the next time you're in the market for a plush toy, why not opt for a turtle stuffed animal instead? After all, they are cushiony soft, and oh so snuggable just like teddy bears. Many online stores have lovely sea turtle stuffed animals, one that is a whopping two feet in size which means it is 27 inches long and 18 inches wide that's a whole lot of plush turtle to love!
Sea turtles are air-breathing reptiles that live in both tropical and sub-tropical waters around the world. They come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. There are some that weigh less than 100 pounds while others are as much as 1,300 pounds. Even their signature upper shells are all different in length, color, and shape.
Sea turtles are not blessed with teeth but do have a beak that has been modified to suit their particular diet. They also don't have ears but have eardrums that are covered with skin. They have an excellent sense of smell and their hearts beat at low frequencies. Out of the water, sea turtles are nearsighted, but underwater they have excellent vision. Their body design and large flippers make them especially adapted for life in the water, however, their ties to the land are also quite strong. To lay eggs in the sand, females must come ashore although males rarely come to land. From the time they are hatchlings and make their way to the water, males remain mostly in the water. Female sea turtles, however, typically nest on the same beach in which they were born (called natal beach). Around the world, nesting occurs at different times. In the United States, that timeframe is from April to October.
To date, researchers are unsure about how long baby turtles stay in the open ocean or where they go. In theory, it is believed that in their very early years, most of their time is spent eating and growing while floating around in large beds of sargasso weeds. When they become the size of a dinner plate, they can be seen at feeding grounds in waters near the shore. Their growth is quite slow and only reach reproductive maturity between 15 and 50 years of age (depending on the species). A sea turtles physical appearance can in no way tell anyone what its age is though it is believed that there are some species which can live to be more than 100.
Sea turtle fossils are about 150 million years old which is just one of many reasons the species is so popular with children. The fact that they lived at the same time as the dinosaurs is always a plus with kids. Despite the fact that sea turtle stuffed animals are not covered in hard, plate shells like the real thing (which makes them quite dinosaur like), turtle stuffed animals enjoy an enormous following regardless.
Angeline Hope is a collector of large stuffed animals. You can view a selection of large stuffed animals including sea turtle stuffed animals at MyBigPlush.
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