If you’ve visited the Alabama coast, you no doubt have seen efforts to protect our sea turtle hatchlings and nests. But there are some really cool things about sea turtles that you may not know.

Sea turtles make the most avid travelers seem sedentary. Leatherback sea turtles can journey more than 10,000 miles each year.

Even though they love to travel, they also are homebodies. Female sea turtles return to the beach where they were born to lay their eggs.

Sea turtles are air-breathing reptiles, so they do need to surface to breathe. But they can stay underwater for four to seven hours if they’re resting. It’s like having their own SCUBA tank, only better!

Last, but not least, they need our help. That’s right. Six of the seven species of sea turtles are endangered. Sadly, they are killed for their eggs, meat, skin and shells, and their habitats are frequently destroyed.

So now that you know some cool things about these incredible creatures, help keep them safe. Report nests you find, avoid those nests as well as turtle tracks, and keep lights out on the beach at night during hatching season (May through October).

The sea turtles will thank you for it.