Save the Turtles IELTS Reading Answers

The best way to master IELTS Reading is to practice passages like ‘Save the Turtles Reading Answers’. However, merely answering the questions will not help. The key to achieving the desired band score in this section is to learn how to scan the given text, use IELTS Reading keyword techniques, and locate the answer within the limited time provided. Save the Turtles Reading Answers, an IELTS Academic reading passage with 13 questions, offers you that opportunity.

In the IELTS Academic Reading practice passage, “Save the Turtles”, there are various question types. Each of these question types is asked in the IELTS Reading exam. So, the passage given in this practice test will help you enhance your reading and understanding capabilities. If you want to familiarize yourself with all the question types, don’t hesitate to take an IELTS reading practice test.

Here are the types of questions asked in the passage :

• IELTS Matching Headings
• IELTS Short Answer

Save the Turtles IELTS Reading Passage

Save the Turtles (Leatherback turtles)

A. Leatherback turtles follow the general sea turtle body plan of having a large, flattened, round body with two pairs of very large flippers and a short tail. Like other sea turtles, the leatherback’s flattened forelimbs are adapted for swimming in the open ocean. Claws are absent from both pairs of flippers. The Leatherback’s flippers arc the largest in proportion to its body among extant sea turtles. Leatherback’s front flippers can grow up to 2.7 meters (9 ft) in large specimens, the largest flippers (even in comparison to its body) of any sea turtle. As the last surviving member of its family, the leatherback turtle has several distinguishing characteristics that differentiate it from other sea turtles. Its most notable feature is that it lacks the bony carapace of the other extant sea turtles.
B. During the past month, four turtles have washed up along Irish coasts from Wexford to Kerry. These turtles are more typical of warmer waters and only occur in Irish waters when they stray off course. It is likely that they may have originated from Florida, America. Two specimens have been taken to Coastal and Marine Resources Centre (stored at the National Maritime College), University College Cork, where a necropsy (post mortem for animals) will be conducted to establish their age, sex and their exact origin. During this same period, two leatherback turtles were found in Scotland, and a rare Kemp’s Ridley turtle was found in Wales, thus making it an exceptional month for stranded turtles in Ireland and the UK.
C. Actually, There has been extensive research conducted regarding the sea turtles’ abilities to return to their nesting regions and sometimes exact locations from hundreds of miles away. In the water, their path is greatly affected by powerful currents. Despite their limited vision, and lack of landmarks in the open water, turtles are able to retrace their migratory paths. Some explanations of this phenomenon have found that sea turtles can detect the angle and intensity of the earth’s magnetic fields.
D. However, Loggerhead turtles are not normally found in Irish waters, because water temperatures here are far too cold for their survival. Instead, adult loggerheads prefer the warmer waters of the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and North America’s east coast. The four turtles that were found have probably originated from the North American population of loggerheads. However it will require genetic analysis to confirm this assumption. It is thought that after leaving their nesting beach as hatchlings (when they measure 4.5 cm in length), these tiny turtles enter the North Atlantic Gyre (a giant circular ocean current) that takes them from America, across to Europe (Azores area), down towards North Africa, before being transported back again to America via a different current. This remarkable round trip may take many years during which these tiny turtles grow by several centimetres a year. Loggerheads may circulate around the North Atlantic several times before they settle in the coastal waters of Florida or the Caribbean.
E. These four turtles were probably on their way around the Atlantic when they strayed a bit too far north from the Gulf Stream. Once they did, their fate was sealed, as the cooler waters of the North East Atlantic are too cold for loggerheads (unlike leatherback turtles which have many anatomical and physiological adaptations to enable them to swim in our seas). Once in cool waters, the body of a loggerhead begins to shut down as they get ‘cold stunned’, then get hypothermia and die.
F. Leatherbacks are in imminent danger of extinction. A critical factor (among others) is the harvesting of eggs from nests. Valued as a food delicacy, Leatherback eggs are falsely touted to have aphrodisiacal properties in some cultures. The leatherback, unlike the Green Sea turtle, is not often killed for its meat; however, the increase in human populations coupled with the growing black market trade has escalated their egg depletion, other critical factors causing the leatherbacks’ decline are pollution such as plastics (leatherbacks eat this debris thinking it is jellyfish; fishing practices such as longline fishing and gill nets, and development on habitat areas. Scientists have estimated that there are only about 35,000 Leatherback turtles in the world.
G. We are often unable to understand the critical impact a species has on the environment—that is, until that species becomes extinct. Even if we do not know the role a creature plays in the health of the environment, past lessons have taught US enough to know that every animal and plant is one important link in the integral chain of nature. Some scientists now speculate that the Leatherback may play an important role in the recovery of diminishing fish populations. Since the Leatherback consumes its weight in jellyfish per day, it helps to keep Jellyfish populations in check. Jellyfish consume large quantities of fish larvae. The rapid decline in Leatherback populations over the last 50 years has been accompanied by a significant increase in jellyfish and a marked decrease in fish in our oceans. Saving sea turtles is an International endeavor.

Questions 1-6

Choose the most suitable heading for paragraphs B-G from the list of heading below.

Write the appropriate number (i-x) in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.

NB There are more headings than paragraphs, so you will not use them all.

List of Headings

i. what happened to those poor turtles

ii. The species still retains its diversity

iii. Trace out the potential migration paths

iv. What should the format of travel itineraries be like?

v. The role of the leatherback

vi. Distinctive qualities of Leatherbacks

vii. Causes of the decline in the human population

viii. It's not common to see sea turtles in these kinds of places

ix. The Techniques Used to Monitor Transportation Paths

x. How far along the process of hatching

1. Paragraph B
2. Paragraph C
3. Paragraph D
4. Paragraph E
5. Paragraph F
6. Paragraph G

Questions 7-10

Choose words from the passage to answer questions 7-10.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

7. What did Irish waters have to do with the demise of leatherback turtles?

8. Which direction did the four turtles most likely come from?

9. In general, how many Leatherbacks are there?

10. What distinguishes leatherback sea turtles from other types of turtles?

Questions 11-13

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D.

11. How can sea turtles get back on the paths they took before they started migrating?

1. Due to strong currents in the water
2. Excellent Eyesight
3. (detecting) Earth's magnetic fields
4. Because of landmarks

12. Which species have not evolved a variety of morphological and physiological adaptations?

1. Jellyfish
2. Leatherback
3. Hatchling turtles
4. Green Sea turtles

13. Why are humans actively killing Green Sea turtles?

1. For their carapace
2. For their meat
3. Black market trade
4. For their larvae

Save the Turtles IELTS Reading Answers with Location and Explanation

Read further for the explanations and location of the ‘Save the Turtles’ IELTS Reading answer

1 Answer: i

Question type: Matching headings

Answer location: Paragraph B, line 6

Answer explanation: Paragraph B illustrates the turtles washing up along the Irish coasts and other places. In the same paragraph, “During this same period, two leatherback turtles were found in Scotland, and a rare Kemp’s Ridley turtle was found in Wales, thus making it an exceptional month for stranded turtles in Ireland and the UK.”

We can deduce from the quoted phrases that sea turtles have been discovered in the Irish coast, Wales and Scotland. In general, these places are unusual because turtles are not usually found here. They come to these places when straying off the course. So, the answer is i-Sea turtles are found in unusual locations. Here, “Sea turtles” refer to leatherback turtles, which are enormous black turtles with a thick leathery shell, living chiefly in tropical seas.

2 Answer: iv

Question type: Matching Headings

Answer location: Paragraph C, line 1

Answer explanation: In paragraph C, it is quoted, “Despite their limited vision, and lack of landmarks in the open water, turtles are able to retrace their migratory paths. Some explanations of this phenomenon have found that sea turtles can detect the angle and intensity of the earth’s magnetic fields”

We understand from the quoted lines that turtles retrace to their migratory paths in spite of having limited vision and lack of landmarks in the open water. According to the explanation, this is possible because the sea turtles are able to detect the angle and intensity of the earth’s magnetic fields through which they travel back. So, the answer is iv- Methods used for route tracking.

3 Answer: ix

Question type: Matching Headings

Answer location: Paragraph D, line 5

Answer explanation: When we scan paragraph D, we can locate the answer from the quoted lines, “It is thought that after leaving their nesting beach as hatchlings (when they measure 4.5 cm in length), these tiny turtles enter the North Atlantic Gyre (a giant circular ocean current) that takes them from America, across to Europe (Azores area), down towards North Africa, before being transported back again to America via a different current. This remarkable round trip may take many years during which these tiny turtles grow by several centimeters a year.”

These lines depict how tiny turtles migrate to America via the North Atlantic Gyre, passing through Europe and North Africa before returning to America. This is the map of the trip that the turtles make. During these round trips, the small turtles grow by several centimeters. Hence, the answer is ix- How trips suppose to look like?

4 Answer: viii

Question type: Matching Headings

Answer location: Paragraph E

Answer explanation: Paragraph E describes the fate of the lost turtles. As quoted, “These four turtles were probably on their way around the Atlantic when they strayed a bit too far north from the Gulf Stream. Once they did, their fate was sealed, as the cooler waters of the North-East Atlantic are too cold for loggerheads (unlike leatherback turtles which have many anatomical and physiological adaptations to enable them to swim in our seas). Once in cool waters, the body of a loggerhead begins to shut down as they get ‘cold-stunned,’ then get hypothermia and die.”

We come to know from the quoted lines that the fate of the four turtles was closed when they wandered a bit too far north from the gulf stream as the cool waters of North-East Atlantic were too cold for the loggerheads causing them to succumb to hypothermia and die. Here, “closed” means sealed, and “wandered” means strayed. Thus, the answer is viii – The fate of the lost turtles.

5 Answer: x

Question type: Matching Headings

Answer location: Paragraph F, line 5 & 6

Answer explanation: Paragraph F illustrates the factors resulting in the extinction of the leatherbacks. As quoted, “Other critical factors causing the leatherbacks’ decline are pollution such as plastics (leatherbacks eat this debris thinking it is jellyfish; fishing practices such as longline fishing and gill nets, and development on habitat areas.”

These lines illustrate the critical factors causing the population decline of leatherbacks such as plastics, and fishing practices, among others. Hence, the answer is x- Factors leading to population decline.

6 Answer: iii

Question type: Matching Headings

Answer location: Paragraph G, line 4

Answer explanation: The fourth line in paragraph G is quoted, “Some scientists now speculate that the Leatherback may play an important role in the recovery of diminishing fish populations. Since the Leatherback consumes its weight in jellyfish per day, it helps to keep Jellyfish populations in check.”

According to the highlighted lines, some scientists believe that the leatherback plays a key part in the recovery of decreasing fish populations because it consumes its body weight in jellyfish per day, keeping jellyfish numbers in check. We understand that leatherback turtles play an important role in controlling the jellyfish population. So, the answer is iii- The leatherback’s contribution.

7 Answer: Thirty-five Thousand

Question type: Short Answer Question

Answer location: Paragraph F, line 8

Answer explanation: The critical factors causing the extinction of leatherback turtles are described in paragraph F. In the eighth line of the paragraph, it is stated that Scientists have evaluated that there are only about 35,000 leatherback turtles in the world. Thus, the correct answer is Thirty-five Thousand*.

*- It should be noted that if the instruction is just words, then you can’t use numbers.

8 Answer: The bony carapace

Question type: Short Answer Question

Answer location: Paragraph A, Line 8

Answer explanation: The introduction paragraph A illustrates the features and differences between Leatherback turtles and sea turtles. In the eighth line of paragraph A, it is mentioned that the most noticeable feature between both turtles is that leatherback turtles lack the bony carapace of the other extant sea turtles. Hence, the correct answer is The body carapace.

9 Answer: Cold water/ temperature

Question type: Short Answer Question

Answer location: Paragraph D, Line 2

Answer explanation: In the second line of paragraph D, it is clearly mentioned that loggerhead turtles are not usually found in Irish waters because water temperatures are far too cold for them to survive. Thus, cold water/ temperature is the correct answer.

10 Answer: Florida, America/North America

Question type: Short Answer Question

Answer location: Paragraph B, Line 3

Answer explanation: As quoted in the 3rd line of paragraph B, “During the past month, four turtles have washed up along Irish coasts from Wexford to Kerry. These turtles are more typical of warmer waters and only occur in Irish waters when they stray off course. They may likely have originated from Florida, America. ”

We understand from the quoted lines that four turtles were washed by the tides along Irish coasts, which were more typical of warmer waters, and they occur in Irish waters when they stray off course. Thus, it is expected that these four turtles may have come from Florida, America. So, the answer is Florida, America.

11 Answer: (detecting) magnetic fields

Question type: Short Answer Question

Answer location: Paragraph C, line 5

Answer explanation: Paragraph C illustrates the scientists’ extensive research on tracking the route of the Turtles. It is mentioned in line 5 that some explanations of the research revealed that sea turtles could detect the angle and intensity of the earth’s magnetic field. So, the sea turtles can retrace their migratory paths by detecting magnetic fields.

12 Answer: their meat

Question type: Short Answer Question

Answer location: Paragraph F, line 3 & 4

Answer explanation: We can trace the information for the question in lines 3 and 4 of paragraph F, where it is quoted, “The leatherback, unlike the Green Sea turtle, is not often killed for its meat; however, the increase in human populations coupled with the growing black market trade has escalated their egg depletion.”

We understand from the quoted lines that the green sea turtle is often killed for its meat Thus, people often kill the green sea turtles for their meat. Hence the answer is theirmeat.

13 Answer: Jellyfish

Question type: Short Answer Question

Answer location: Paragraph G, line 7 & 8

Answer explanation: In paragraph G, it is quoted, “The rapid decline in Leatherback populations over the last 50 years has been accompanied by a significant increase in jellyfish and a marked decrease in fish in our oceans.”

These quoted lines indicate that the decline in the leatherback population has resulted in the increase of jellyfish and a marked decrease in fish populations in the oceans. As a result, reducing the leatherback population will benefit jellyfish in the waters significantly. Hence, the answer is Jellyfish.

Tips to Solve the Questions in Save the Turtles IELTS Reading Answers

Matching Headings

Matching Headings is one of the most difficult types of questions in the IELTS exam, as it requires the test-taker to match the heading in the question to the correct paragraph. These types of questions assess the capacity of the test-taker to comprehend the primary idea of each passage. Headings are short sentences or phrases that summarise the content of a paragraph. The test-taker should scan and skim the passage for keywords, understand the main idea, and choose the appropriate paragraph header.

Short Answer Questions

The short answer questions are very similar to the sentence completion questions, where the test-taker must take words from the given passage to write the short answer questions. This type of question requires the test-taker to quickly skim the passage for general meaning, identify keywords, recognise paraphrasing and synonyms, and write the answers that are relevant to the questions. The test-taker should pay attention to the instruction box before answering.

Check More IELTS Reading Answers