how many eggs do sea turtles lay

Female sea turtles usually lay about 80–120 eggs per nest, and most species lay several nests in a single season, so one female can lay a few hundred eggs in a year.

Quick Scoop

• A nest of sea turtle eggs is called a clutch.

• Across species, clutches typically range from about 65 to 180 eggs each.

• On many nesting beaches, the overall average is roughly 100–110 eggs per clutch.

By the Numbers

• Flatback sea turtles tend to have smaller clutches, around 50 eggs.

• Hawksbill sea turtles can lay very large clutches, often over 150 and sometimes more than 200 eggs.

• In one nesting season, a female may lay between 2 and 8 clutches, meaning a single turtle can produce several hundred eggs before she migrates away.

Why So Many Eggs?

• Only a tiny fraction of hatchlings survive to adulthood, so laying many eggs boosts the odds that at least a few will make it.

• Over a lifetime, a single female may lay well over a thousand eggs, yet perhaps only one or so survives to become an adult turtle.

TL;DR: Sea turtles usually lay around 80–120 eggs per nest (often near 100), and a female can lay several nests per season, adding up to a few hundred eggs in a single year.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.