Listed as Endangered under the EPBC Act 1999 (Commonwealth) and BC Act 2016 (WA); and as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
Loggerhead turtles are the second most common species at Ningaloo, and there are nesting rookeries of significance in Cape Range National Park, Muiron Islands, Gnarraloo and Janes Bay. An estimated 990 to 2,760 loggerhead turtles are in the breeding population that nest within the North West Cape and Cape Range rookeries. They can travel vast distances from their nesting beaches to their foraging areas and some loggerheads tagged in WA have been recaptured or resighted in the NT, Qld and Indonesia.
Loggerhead turtles have a carnivorous diet, feeding mostly on shellfish, crabs, sea urchins and jellyfish. They lay approx. 125 eggs per clutch.
There are 2 genetically distinct stocks of loggerheads nesting in Australia, one in WA. So this means all the loggerheads using rookeries at Ningaloo and Shark Bay belong to the same stock.
Physical characteristics include a large, solid jaw capable of crushing, 5 pairs of large scales (costal scales) on each side of their shell and a brown to red-brown carapace