Quote Originally Posted by Punisher136
I don't feel sorry for these things at all. First the mom lays the eggs an insane distance away from the water (they are sea turtles and are born with flippers not feet) and just leaves. When these things hatch they have to dig their way out of a 3 foot hole they were placed in then make a slow hop to the water while most are picked off by seagulls or the hot sun (watching baby sea turtles trying to make it to the water is the most carnage packed and depressing/funny thing you will ever see in nature). If they hatch during low tide good chance of no survivors and if some do survive and make it into the water there's probably a shark or something like that waiting to finish of the batch. Don't feel sorry for them they need to change the way they do things.
This has given me sleepless nights also .

I think the reason they lay them so far away from the shore is something to do with the incubation of the eggs. They need to maintain a certain tempreture and are layed at a certain depth to prevent them getting either to wet or too hot .
Amphibians and reptiles incubation tempreture detirmines the sex of the new young and even the slightest degree above or below this will turn them into scrambled eggs .
The Eggs to my limited knowlage are layed at a specific time of the year to conincide with some fancy lunar cycle on a paticular beech in which the mother turtle was born , most of these beeches have deep lying tides which dont actually go out a great deal .
Im not sure but don't turtle eggs hatch at night?
The reason the Mummy turtle lays so many of the little fuckers is to ensure that the species has a good chance of surviving some make it some dont but cos if she layed 3 eggs and there was some big Monitor Lizard hanging about or a nasty looking Fish Eagle on a recce they'd soon get devoured thats why in this case they're small and spritely forthat quick dash to the shore.
This insures survival of the fittest the slower uglier turtles get eaten whereas the Daley Thompson turtles get to reproduce and have children out of wedlock .