A Loggerhead Turtle is swimming near the reef at Bud's Cave near the island of Abaco in the Bahamas. I love to see sea turtles. Sea turtles are remarkable swimmers. They are fast and graceful underwater, unlike their slow cousins that live on land.

Loggerhead Turtles can be identified by their reddish-brown color and their humped backs. Scientists also can identify sea turtles by the pattern of plates on their shells. Sea turtles breathe air. They must return to the surface of the ocean to breathe, and they hold their breath when they dive.

This friendly turtle swam with us for several minutes. It even approached the camera for a close look, giving us some wonderful photographs.

Many sea turtles are endangered. People catch them to make things from their shells and to eat them, and people also gather their eggs for food. We must protect all sea turtles carefully, to keep them from becoming extinct. Turtles are protected in many parts of the world. Protecting sea turtles from hunters may help to keep them from becoming extinct.