Sea turtles are amazing creatures. They spend their entire lives at sea except when females come ashore to lay eggs. Females nest every 2-5 years, never in consecutive years (smart!) Depending on the species of sea turtle (there are seven), females will dig a nest and deposit anywhere from 50-200 eggs. Then they return to the water, mate again, and create a new nest. This can happen two or three times in a mating season.

No one knows how mating occurs because the process happens in the water—males never return to shore after they hatch. It is believed that males may compete for a mate by trying to be the one to raise their neck the highest.

Incubation of sea turtle eggs takes 45-70 days depending on the species. Hatchlings circle the nesting area once then make their way to the water. They are independent, paying no attention to their siblings. Once in the water, researchers have no idea where they go or what they do during their first year of life. That time period is appropriately referred to as the ‘lost year’.

Only 10% of hatchlings—1 in 1000 –survive to adulthood, making this marvelous creature even more special.

In this infographic of sea turtle mythologies, beliefs and facts, you will see why the sea turtle is the perfect symbol of the attitudes and characteristics we need to have on our profound journeys. Download a pdf of the infographic here.

<p><strong>Please include attribution to profoundjourney.com with this graphic.</strong></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <p><a href=’https://profoundjourney.com/sea-turtle-perfect-symbol-profound-journey/’><img src=’https://profoundjourney.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Why-the-SeaTurtle-is-the-Perfect-Symbol-for-Your-ProfoundJourney.jpg’ alt=’Why the Sea Turtle is the perfect symbol for your Profound Journey’ width=’540px’ border=’0′ /></a></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <p>

Bloggers, you are welcome to include this infographic on your site. Just copy and paste the embed code from the above box. Enjoy!

For more images of sea turtles, check out my Pinterest board And if you need to relax, here is a beautiful 4 1/2 minute video of underwater life, featuring our sea turtle. Enjoy.

What do you think? Is the sea turtle the creature that speaks to you, or does another animal feel more fitting as a model for your profound journey? Let us know your preference in the comments below.