Don't 'Go With the Flow': Young Loggerheads Swim Into Oncoming Streams (Video)

Some creatures prefer the path less traveled, and I guess you could say that's also true of juvenile loggerhead turtles.

This oceanic reptile that's found throughout the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian and Mediterranean oceans likes to swim into oncoming ocean currents instead of passively drifting along with them.

After loggerhead turtle hatchlings return from their nesting beaches, they can live for anywhere from 7-10 years as they migrate through various coastal habitats. Juvenile loggerheads in particular are fully equipped with strong swimming abilities. However, scientists have not been completely certain why they would choose to swim against the tide.

Researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) set out to study their daily journey by comparing frequent movements over the course of 13 to 350 days of 40 juvenile loggerhead turtles via satellite with oceanic circulation from various sources off New Caledonia, a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean.

Findings revealed that the turtles were swimming against the prevailing current in a statistically significant pattern at a rate of approximately 30 cm/sec. This indicated an ability to detect the current water flow as well as better orient themselves to swim into the current flow direction.

With the help of multiple sensory cues, the study authors said they believe that these turtles are able to easily orient themselves and catch any displacements from wind or strong currents.

However, for future studies, additional factors should also be taken into account, including existing swimming patterns exhibited by the loggerheads and turtle ecology in ocean currents.

"This study provides evidence that these oceanic stages of loggerhead sea turtles studied with satellite tags do not necessarily get passively transported with ocean currents and, further, provides compelling evidence that these turtles are able to resist such transport using some mechanism not yet fully understood. They are apparently able to detect the direction of current flow and swim against the prevailing current," concluded lead study author Dr. Donald Kobayashi of NOAA, via a news release.

Want to see a loggerhead in action? Check out this video, courtesy of National Geographic.