The flow chart illustrates the various stages involved in the life cycle of the sea turtle.
Overall, the process consists of seven main stages, starting with egg incubation on land, followed by extensive migration in the ocean, culminating in nesting. This cyclical process is highly complex and takes significant amount of time to complete.
At the initial stage, the life cycle begins with egg incubation that lasts between 8 and 10 weeks. Following this, once the incubation period is complete, the newly hatched emerge and head into the open ocean for foraging. After spending a period of 5 to 20 years in this phase, turtles begin a developmental migration process that spans from 30 to 50 years.
At the next stage, immature and adult turtles migrate to coastal shallow-water foraging areas, from which mature adults move to mating areas. Having mated, both male and female turtles return to their foraging area. After a two-week interval, the pregnant female turtles come back ashore to nest and lay eggs, thereby restarting the entire cycle.