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Biology

Olfactory Navigation and Homing in Sea Turtles

Quick fact

Loggerhead sea turtles can detect odors from land in the open ocean, and experiments have shown that turtles exposed to the smell of their natal beach orient towards it from hundreds of kilometers away.

Why this is interesting

Imagine setting out on a journey across an ocean the size of the Atlantic, with no map, no GPS, and no landmarks—only to return to the exact same beach you were born on, decades later. How do sea turtles accomplish this?