Support sea turtle conservation worldwide by adopting a sea turtle today.
You can support Oceanic Society’s global sea turtle conservation programs by adopting a sea turtle species or naming a leatherback sea turtle today. Oceanic Society supports local sea turtle conservation programs worldwide, including efforts to protect nesting beaches, address plastic pollution, improve fishery management, support sustainable livelihoods, and much more.
Your symbolic sea turtle adoption or sea turtle naming with Oceanic Society not only makes a great gift, but it also provides support to our sea turtle conservation programs. Oceanic Society is a U.S. 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (EIN: 94-3105570), and your symbolic animal adoptions are tax-deductible.
Adopt or name a sea turtle today by choosing from the options below!

Adopt a Sea Turtle
For 1 Year: $50
For a tax-deductible annual adoption fee
of $50 you will receive:
- A personalized printed or digital certificate of adoption good for one year.
- Free domestic shipping via USPS, on request (note: international orders will receive a digital certificate).
Name a Leatherback
Turtle: $500
For a tax-deductible fee of $500, you can name a leatherback sea turtle tagged on Matura Beach in Trinidad and Tobago. Your donation will support Nature Seekers, the nonprofit conservation group responsible for protecting and collecting data on your named turtle. You will also receive:
- A personalized naming certificate with information collected by Nature Seekers about your sea turtle.
- A leatherback turtle fact sheet and information about the work you are supporting.
- Free shipping worldwide, upon request.
- Public acknowledgment on our Named Sea Turtles page and in Nature Seekers’ annual report.
- Permanent recognition as the leatherback’s patron in Nature Seekers’ database.
- Email updates about re-sightings of your turtle and new data collected (if available).

Sea Turtle Species Available for Adoption

Leatherback Sea Turtle
Common Name: Leatherback turtle
Scientific Name: Dermochelys coriacea
IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable
Adult Length: 4.5 to 6+ feet (140-180+ cm)
Adult Weight: 661 to 1,410+ lbs (300-640 kg)
The largest of the sea turtles, leatherback turtles are superlative in many ways. They make the longest migrations of any sea turtle and among the longest migrations of any vertebrate, sometimes crossing entire ocean basins just to feed. For example, leatherback turtles that breed and nest in West Papua, Indonesia swim across the Pacific Ocean to feed on abundant jellyfish off the coast of California and Oregon—more than 12,000 miles! Leatherbacks also make the deepest dives of any sea turtle, regularly diving to depths greater than 1,000 m (3,281 ft) where no sunlight reaches. These spectacular animals are threatened with extinction worldwide, and are rapidly declining in many parts of the world.

Green Sea Turtle
Common Name: Green turtle
Scientific Name: Chelonia mydas
IUCN Red List Status: Endangered
Adult Length: 2.6 to 4 feet (80-120 cm)
Adult Weight: Up to 661lbs (300 kg)
The most iconic of the sea turtles, the green turtle also has the most numerous and widely dispersed nesting sites of the seven species. As adults, green turtles are mainly herbivores and are known to play an important role as “grazers” in seagrass ecosystems. Green turtles were formerly one of the most abundant large vertebrates in the ocean, but populations have declined dramatically over the past several hundred years, leaving them as endangered globally. Green turtles were once highly sought after for their body fat – a key ingredient in the popular delicacy, ‘green turtle soup.’ Although it has become illegal to catch and trade them in many parts of the world, green turtles and their eggs continue to be eaten, and face newer threats from fishing, coastal development, and climate change.

Hawksbill Sea Turtle
Common Name: Hawksbill turtle
Scientific Name: Eretmochelys imbricata
IUCN Red List Status: Critically Endangered
Adult Length: 2.5 to 3 feet (75-90 cm)
Adult Weight: Up to 331 lbs (150 kg)
Named for their sharp, pointed beaks, in most parts of the world hawksbill turtles feed primarily on reef sponges—invertebrate organisms whose bodies contain tiny, indigestible glass needles. Hawksbills are therefore most often found in close proximity to coral reefs. The hawksbill’s scientific name, imbricata, refers to the overlapping nature of the scutes (scales) on its shell. They have beautiful, translucent shells that have long been exploited for use in tortoiseshell jewelry. Though international trade of tortoiseshell has been prohibited, illegal trafficking continues, and hawksbills are Critically Endangered with extinction.

Olive Ridley Sea Turtle
Common Name: Olive ridley turtle
Scientific Name: Lepidochelys olivacea
IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable
Adult Length: 2 to 2.3 feet (60-70 cm)
Adult Weight: Up to 154 lbs (70 kg)
Far and away the most abundant sea turtle species, olive ridleys are known for their amazing mass nesting behavior. In one of nature's greatest spectacles — known as arribadas, the Spanish word for ‘arrival’ — olive ridleys come ashore simultaneously by the thousands to nest. These phenomena occur in just a handful of places worldwide, including Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Mexico, and India. Though olive ridleys are the most abundant of sea turtles, they are also threatened by fisheries bycatch, egg harvest, and coastal development.

Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle
Common Name: Kemp’s ridley turtle
Scientific Name: Lepidochelys kempii
IUCN Red List Status: Critically Endangered
Adult Length: 2 to 2.3 feet (60-70 cm)
Adult Weight: Up to 132 lbs (60 kg)
The Kemp’s ridley is the smallest of the sea turtles, and also the most endangered. It has a restricted range, nesting only along the Gulf of Mexico shores of northern Mexico and in Texas, U.S.A. Fifty years ago, the Kemp’s ridley nearly went extinct. Although this species now shows signs of recovery thanks to a long-term, dedicated multinational conservation effort, its population is still only a small fraction of what it was when it was first discovered in the 1940s. Unlike most sea turtle species, Kemp’s ridleys nest during the day.

Loggerhead Sea Turtle
Common Name: Loggerhead turtle
Scientific Name: Caretta caretta
IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable
Adult Length: 2.3 to 3.6 feet (70-110 cm)
Adult Weight: Up to 441 lbs (200 kg)
Loggerhead turtles are the most common and abundant species nesting in the United States. During the spring and summer, they nest on beaches throughout the southeast U.S. (from North Carolina south through Florida) and into the Gulf of Mexico. Loggerheads are named for their large heads, with jaws powerful enough to crush an adult queen conch (a favorite food). They are known for their vast migrations, among the longest of the sea turtles. For instance, loggerhead turtles that nest in Japan migrate across the Pacific Ocean to feed in the waters of Mexico! As a species that can travel thousands of miles across ocean basins, loggerheads are also threatened due to habitat loss, pollution, and accidental capture by fishermen.

Flatback Sea Turtle
Common Name: Flatback turtle
Scientific Name: Natator depressus
IUCN Red List Status: Data Deficient
Adult Length: 2.6 to 3.1 feet (80-95 cm)
Adult Weight: Up to 220 lbs (100 kg)
The flatback turtle is the least studied of the sea turtles and has one of the smallest geographic ranges. In fact, until 1988 flatbacks were thought to be a subspecies of green turtle rather than a separate species. Flatbacks nest solely along the northern coast of Australia, and live on the continental shelf between Australia, southern Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. These unique turtles have the largest eggs and hatchlings relative to their adult body size of all sea turtles, and they have a unique physiology that allows them to stay active underwater for longer periods than most other species.
Leatherback Sea Turtles Available For Naming

PIT Tag ID: 4A15515956
First Tagged: May 1, 2009
Most Recent Sighting: March 11, 2024
Number of Years Seen Nesting: 3
Leatherback 4A15515956 was spotted for the first time in 2009 as a small, possibly new mother, measuring only 141 cm long (about 4ft 7in). In the ensuing 15 years, the Nature Seekers team has seen her during two more nesting seasons and watched her blossom into the mature turtle she is today. In March 2024, she had grown to measure a respectable 150 cm (4ft 11in) and her girth had grown by 10 cm (4 in)! For that, 4A15515956 holds the title of “biggest growth spurt” and deserves an unforgettable name for her success!

PIT Tag ID: 4B114E7A3A
First Tagged: May 15, 2010
Most Recent Sighting: March 17, 2024
Number of Years Seen Nesting: 3
4B114E7A3A is an unforgettable leatherback turtle who, at 160 cm long, was already large when she was first tagged in 2010. She has blown that number out of the water in the past 14 years, though, and is now a whopping 168 cm long! She has completed the long migrations between her foraging grounds in Nova Scotia to Matura, Trinidad at least three times since she was first identified. We hope that soon we’ll be able to cheer on 4B114E7A3A using a more personal name!

PIT Tag ID: 4A5F55522F
First Tagged: June 6, 2011
Most Recent Sighting: March 25, 2024
Number of Years Seen Nesting: 2
While 4A5F55522F has sported her tag for only 13 years, she has accomplished much to be proud of in that time. She has traveled thousands of miles between her foraging grounds and Matura Beach and back at least twice and grown 7 cm in length. 4A5F55522F has many years of egg-laying ahead of her and can’t wait for a new name to show off.

PIT Tag ID: 472C73050F
First Tagged: April 27, 2007
Most Recent Sighting: April 2, 2024
Number of Years Seen Nesting: 4
Turtle 472C73050F is one of the largest leatherbacks in our sea turtle naming program. When she was first tagged in 2007, she was 161 cm long and 115 cm wide. Upon her return in 2024, she was an impressive 169 cm long and 121 cm wide. We can assume that 472C73050F is a skilled jellyfish predator and takes her role in keeping their growing populations under control very seriously. For her service in keeping jellyfish stings down, 472C73050F deserves an honorable name.