Eventually the GPS tags slough off because “the outside of a young turtle’s shell sheds as they grow very quickly,” said Katrina Phillips, a marine ecologist at the University of Central Florida and co-author of the new study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

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

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

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.