These aquatic reptiles swim thousands of miles across the open ocean to return to the same foraging grounds and nesting sites. They don’t always take the shortest, most direct route, but they do eventually get to where they’re going.

Young sea turtles actively swim and choose their paths instead of drifting. New satellite tracking reveals their movements.

Sea turtles are capable of creating GPS-like magnetic maps to guide them back to foraging grounds, and they do a little dance when they recognize those spots

For decades, scientists have wondered about what happens during the so-called lost years between when tiny hatchlings leave the beach and when they return to coastlines nearly grown — a span of about one to 10 years. New research published Tuesday begins to fill in that gap.

The turtles danced with the most enthusiasm in the tank when they knew they would get food. This was "strong evidence" that turtles can learn the magnetic signatures of "specific geographical areas", the researchers said. Even when tested four months later, the turtles still knew where they should dance.

Loggerhead turtles “dance” when exposed to food-associated magnetic fields, and their magnetic map may help them return to specific areas after long migrations.

Researchers found loggerhead turtle hatchlings can be conditioned to recognize magnetic fields, which helps them locate feeding sites.

Dancing turtles have proved for the first time that some animals use Earth's magnetic field to create a personal map of their favorite spots, scientists said Wednesday.

Loggerhead turtles “dance” when exposed to food-associated magnetic fields, and their magnetic map may help them return to specific areas after long migrations.