Updated 12 October 2001, 10.01

			Fact File
	Loggerhead turtles
		They are one of only seven species of sea turtles still in existence
		Main nesting areas are in south-eastern United States
		They carry 120 eggs
		They eat conchs, crabs, shrimps, sea urchins, fish, squid, octopus, whelks and jellyfish
		Protected by the US Endangered Species Act

The turtles were fitted with special tiny swimming suits and put in tanks to see how they reacted to magnetic fields.

Magnetic

They found out the turtles used an internal 'compass' which recognises changes in the Earth's magnetic field and so points them in the right direction.

When they start their amazing journey which can take up to 10 years, they're about five centimetres long and defenceless.

Even as they hatch, they're in danger of being eaten by ghost crabs, raccoons, skunks, foxes, or dogs. In the oceans, they face sea birds, crabs, and carnivorous fishes.

They make the dangerous and long migration swim across the oceans to escape being eaten.