Each week, CatchMark Community features a Wild Animal Fact from Montague native Seth Simon, the creator of the popular bite-sized wildlife series. Seth is known for his upbeat personality, love of animals, and knack for turning fascinating facts into fun, 60-second reads. His goal is to spark curiosity, encourage conservation awareness, and bring a little joy to everyone who follows along. We’re proud to share his work and add a touch of “wild” to your week.
As part of this weekly feature, Seth brings his signature enthusiasm straight to our readers with a fresh creature spotlight—packed with quick facts, habitat insights, and the unique quirks that make each animal extraordinary. His posts combine education and entertainment in a way that’s accessible for all ages, making wildlife learning both fun and memorable. Enjoy this week’s feature below!
Hey 
Wild Fact Fans, Seth here with the new Friday Feature creature. Don’t forget to please like 
, share and comment 
questions 
down below 
If you have any on this weeks animal ^^ or any creature you’d like me to do a post on in the future
This weeks feature creature post is 1 of 2 special honorable features i’ll be doing for the holiday season 
. Since around a year ago near christmas time; i was gifted a few special creature gifts 
from my parents that i love and cherish so much; Fahlo Bracelets. Stylish & adjustable beaded bracelets that allows you track a real, tagged animal from an interactive map 
app you can get on your phone 
or mobile device. That year marked the start of me collecting them & i love 
every single one i add to my collection. Especially since these bracelets helps protect exotic & rare animals along with support conservation for creatures around the 
If you guys are looking for a special gift for someone this season (especially if they love jewelry and / or animals ) i definitely recommend these ^^.
With that special memory & with having it hard to choose which animal to do for my birthday 
; i decided to showcase 2 animals i Fahlo Follow for this month to celebrate 
^^ (and possibly 2 others for next year 
2026 hint 
^^)
This 1st special creature is a very special & becoming more rare tropical 
ocean 
traveler 
; who spends its days riding the tides and cruising thru reefs 
; chomping down on sea sponges 
with its sharp hawk like beak that give its name . Along with it’s beautiful 
marbled shell 
; its well recognized among this ancient group of sea reptiles. Sadly 
, this species is critically endangered due to major threats such as hunting for Its shell , habitat loss, pollution, climate change & being caught as bycatch. Like with all its other relatives; people are fighting hard to help make sure this beautiful species and its relatives are around for many more generations to come.
This weeks feature creature is The Hawksbill Sea Turtle 
1. Measuring in at 2.5 to near 4ft long & Weighing in at 44 to 280 lbs; Hawksbills are the 3rd 
smallest member of the sea turtle family; which is ancient group of reptiles that has survived since the age of Dinosaurs 
!
2. Theyre mainly Coastal 
& Reef Turtles; who like to hang out around coral communities for food, shelter & protection. They often travel long distances to find new areas; sensing the magnetic 
field of the Earth to navigate 
their way. They often like to hang out in the Caribbean, Indonesian 
Islands , & Australia 
3. This species of sea turtle is named after the Hawk 
like bill it has along with its narrow head that helps them reach into crevices to eat their favorite food; Sea Sponges . They also like to eat on occasion sea grass, algae, anemones, squid 
, soft coral , fish 
, jellyfish 
, Portuguese Man Of Wars, urchins, small lobster 
, crabs 
, snails 
, shrimp 
,!& other shellfish 
.
4. They play a vital role on coral reefs by keeping sponge populations in check so they dont choke out the reef & since most sea sponges are toxic to eat for most other sea animals! Their toxic diet also helps as a defense that makes them toxic to other animals; including people 
!
5. Theyre also recognized by their 3ft long serrated edge covered, oval shaped shell thats dappled in a wide array of colors such as amber, brown, black, yellow, & orange. They’re also the only sea turtles with overlapping scutes which makes the shell tougher for defense. This “Tortoise shell” as its called was prized by hunters to make it into fine jewelry; which is what among many other threats lead it to becoming Critically Endangered 
6. Hawksbills are also one of the few biofluorescent sea creatures & reptiles, meaning they can glow under certain light 
conditions! Some scientists think its cause of their diet & might be used for attracting mates since it’s believed males are more colorful
7. Hawksbill are considered playful & curious; often times coming close to divers 
!
8. Their domed shell provides great streamlining to move thru the water at speeds of 15 mph for short bursts. Their long front flippers help power them forward while their back ones help steer as they cruise at 2 to 9 mph
9. Hawksbills are the only species of Sea Turtle with 2 claws on their front flippers. These help them grip onto reefs a bit & help during breeding season in April to November; when males search 
lagoons for females to latch on and breed with them.
10. Along with relying on speed , agility, good eyesight 
, good hearing 
& sense of smell 
, plus hiding out within reefs for protection; Hawksbill Sea Turtles will use their shells like a shield 
to block attacks from sharks 
(especially Tiger Sharks) & Crocs 
. Orcas & Octopuses 
are also occasional predators ; which they avoid mainly instead of using the shield technique
11. Like other sea turtles; Hawksbills cry 
to excrete excess salt 
from seawater 
they drink & to wash out sand in their eyes 
which mainly happens for females when they come ashore to lay up eggs 
on the beach
12. As with all Female sea turtles; girl Hawksbills are the only ones to ever come onto land while males are completely sea bound. Females only return to land (mainly on clear nights 
) when it’s time to lay around 100 to 264 eggs .
13. The gender of the hatchlings like with lots of reptiles is determined by the temperature 
of the nest 
. If theyre laid in darker warmer sand they’ll mostly become girls 
; in lighter colored cooler sand; they’ll mostly become boys 
!
14. When they hatch 
after 2 months ; they’re only be 2.5 inches & 5 ounces in size & are on their own as they dig out of the underground nest 
and make the dangerous crossing to the sea ; guided by the light of the moon 
and stars 
.
15. Their nests & are often raided by crabs , monitor lizards 
, wild dogs 
, raccoons 
, rats & other small mammals. Hatchlings often get snatched by sea birds like gulls as they head to the water
16. Since they cant dive deep like adults; young sea turtles hide out in large clumps of floating seaweed & kelp out in the open sea until they’re big enough to outswim or be to big for most predators like large fish , sharks , octopuses , dolphins 
& sea birds 
. It’ll take 30 to 50 years till they reach full grown size
Next Weeks Feature Creature Hint 
: this Amazing flyer is the fastest animal on the planet & can be found everywhere except Antarctica 
Wild Animal Facts: Hamadryas Baboon
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