Herps In Popular Culture: Crush from Finding Nemo

"Grab shell dude!"

Crush, the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) from the Disney movie Finding Nemo, is in my opinion the greatest Disney character of all time.    (For those of you have not been acquainted with Crush, click here.)  This laid back surfer dude is one cool turtle.  While he is obviously an animated character, there are many aspects of the movie that remain true to real life green sea turtles.  

In the movie, Nemo's father hitches a ride to Sydney with Pacific green sea turtles cruising the current down the coast of eastern Australia.  This current is called the Eastern Australian Current or EAC, and green sea turtles actually do use it as a mode of faster transportation during migration.  Green sea turtles are found all around the globe in subtropical and tropical ocean waters and travel long distances to preferred breeding sites.  Researchers are not sure exactly how long the migration takes or how much of the migration the turtles spend swimming versus how much of the migration involves passive movement with the current.  A lot more research is necessary in the field, but researchers do know that green turtles do in fact use different ocean currents on their long journeys. 

Believe it or not, another aspect of the movie that is somewhat true to the biology of the green sea turtle is Crush's supposed age.  When Marlin asks Crush how old he is, Crush responds, "Hundred and fifty, and still young, dude. Rock on."  While this number is definitely high, it is not far from the truth.  Green sea turtles take 20-50 years just to reach sexual maturity.  (Sidenote:  Males can breed every year, but females only breed every 3-4 years.  This, combined with a very low chance for hatchling survival, is why it is so important that we protect these turtles.)  It's not really known what the maximum age of the green sea turtle is, but most live for 80-100+ years.  So, is it likely that a green sea turtle would live to the ripe old age of 150?  Probably not, but it's not that far fetched.

Obviously, when it comes to the movies there are going to be certain things that just don't happen in real life.  One part of the Finding Nemo story that is not accurate is the relationship between Crush and his son Squirt.  The movie shows the green sea turtles exhibiting some extensive parental care.  In real life, females deposit their eggs on shore and the hatchlings are left to fend for themselves.  Sadly, if you travel to the EAC you will not find a laid back surfer dude dad slappin' fins, bumpin' noggins, or riding the righteous currents with his juvenile son.  With that I will leave you with a radical youtube video that has some fun facts about Crush and his species:  

Photo Courtesy of Google Images

Bibliography

http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Library/Amphibians-Reptiles-and-Fish/Sea-Turtles/Green-Sea-Turtle.aspx

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-03-10/aussie-turtles-ride-the-eac-to-peru/1615194

http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0003719/quotes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_sea_turtle

http://www.2fla.com/seaturtles.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvf-8hi8ALY