The Lab also has some endangered sea turtles.  This is a Loggerhead Turtle, the most common nesting sea turtle species in the United States.  They spend most of their time out in the open ocean but the females return to the beach where they were hatched to lay their own eggs.  They only do this every two or three years.  Each female makes an average of four nests separated by two-week intervals.  Each nest can contain 70-150 eggs that are about the size and shape of a ping pong ball.  Loggerheads can reach 3 ½ feet long and weigh up to 800 pounds.  This one is still relatively small (about a foot long).  This loggerhead was raised from an egg and will soon be big enough to be released into the wild.
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