How do sea turtles move?

Sea turtles are agile swimmers that move through the water using four flippers that function like rowing oars. On land, female sea turtles use their flippers to pull themselves across beach sand and dirt to dig nests for their eggs.

Sea turtles' shells are more hydrodynamically efficient than those of land turtles, meaning that sea turtles are more maneuverable in the water.

Parental care for baby sea turtles, called hatchlings, stops when the female finishes depositing her clutch of eggs in the nest. Hatchlings are driven by instinct to the ocean when they emerge from their shells and leave the nest. Male sea turtles never return to land after hatching.