The hawksbill's overlapping amber-and-brown scutes are the "tortoiseshell" that drove its historic trade; it has a narrow bird-like beak and eats mainly sponges . Adults are two to 3.5 feet and 100 to 150 pounds . On the Texas coast it turns up "occasionally," in TPWD's words, and the animals found here are young: post-hatchlings a few inches long washed ashore alive in Sargassum, and juveniles around a foot long in nearshore Gulf waters and channels . The single Texas nest was found at the National Seashore in August 1998 . Sea Turtle, Inc. houses a permanent hawksbill resident, Bagua, a female estimated at about 20 years old who was blinded by poachers' wires in the Gulf of Mexico, treated in Puerto Rico, and moved to South Padre Island in 2024 .
Observe responsibly
Wildlife, tides and access conditions change. Keep a respectful distance, do not feed wildlife, stay out of dunes and marked nesting areas, and use current official rules before fishing or handling any catch.