Green turtles are the largest hard-shelled sea turtles and are highly migratory, inhabiting tropical and subtropical seas worldwide, including the Indian, Atlantic, Caribbean, and Pacific Oceans. They are often caught and killed for “turtle soup,” a delicacy in many regions. Their name comes from the greenish color of the fat layer beneath their shells.

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Adult green turtles are herbivorous, feeding primarily on marine vegetation such as seagrass and seaweed, which gives their fat its distinctive greenish hue. However, juveniles are carnivorous before transitioning to a plant-based diet. They reach sexual maturity between 25 and 35 years of age, and a mature female can lay between 100 and 200 eggs per clutch.

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The heart-shaped carapace of green turtles varies in color from green-yellow to gray-brown and consists of five vertebral scuttles. Classified as a globally endangered species, green turtles face numerous threats, including bycatch in fishing gear, direct harvesting for eggs and meat, habitat loss and degradation, vessel strikes, and ocean pollution.