Do Sea Turtles Make Sounds? The Truth About Sea Turtle Sounds

Yes: researchers have recorded sounds produced by sea turtles. That does not mean scientists have translated a turtle language. Recording a sound, identifying its source and showing what it means are three different jobs.

Listening underwater

In a 2022 study, researchers fitted audio-video recorders to 11 juvenile green turtles in Martinique. They described ten sound types, including pulses and squeaks. The finding applies to those recordings; it is not a fixed vocabulary for every sea turtle. The authors proposed possible communication functions and called for further research. Charrier and colleagues, 2022

A later study examined the behavior accompanying underwater sounds in juvenile green turtles. Many sounds occurred during resting or swimming. Night-time sequences of rumbles suggested possible interactions between turtles, but the researchers treated that interpretation cautiously. Behavioral study, 2025

What about hatchlings?

Researchers have also studied sounds around hatching and emergence. A doctoral study recorded olive ridley nests at different stages and compared recordings from olive ridley, leatherback and East Pacific green hatchlings. It found sounds, but could not determine the significance of the frequencies recorded inside the nests. McKenna's research abstract

We should not tell children that sea turtle sounds are a proven countdown that makes a whole nest hatch together. Coordinating hatching is a research question, not a translated message. Findings about freshwater turtle parental behavior also cannot simply be applied to sea turtles.

Can sea turtles hear?

Yes. Hearing studies show sensitivity to relatively low-frequency sounds, with results depending on species, age and whether the animal is tested in air or water. A 2021 experiment tested leatherback hatchlings' responses to several beach sounds. The hatchlings did not show a significant directional response to the tested sounds in that experimental setup. That does not mean they are deaf or that sound never matters. Leatherback hatchling experiment

It is tempting to imagine every click as a conversation. A stronger scientific habit is to ask: Was another turtle nearby? Did it respond? Could the sound have another cause? Researchers use observations and experiments to separate those possibilities.

Learn and play

Compare another sense in how sea turtles navigate. Our Hatchling Compass game is a simplified direction puzzle, not an experiment showing how real turtles hear or navigate.

Try this learning question: What extra evidence would you want before saying that one turtle was calling to another?