The animals on the cover of Version Control with Subversion, Second Edition, are hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) or Honu'ea, as they are known in Hawaii. The hawksbill is a medium-sized turtle weighing up to 270 pounds, with a shell length of about 3 feet. This sea turtle can be found in tropical reef areas in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. The hawksbill gets its name from its distinctive beak-like mouth, and it is also recognized for its beautiful shell coloring, known as "tortoise shell," which was exploited by the fashion industry for many years. Hawksbill sea turtles are listed as an endangered species in Hawaii and are protected under the state law as well as many other endangered species laws.

Sea turtles are highly migratory and have unique nesting habits. Nesting occurs at night, typically between May and October. First, the females go ashore and look for small, isolated beaches where they can lay their eggs. After they choose a site, usually beyond the tideline, they dig a pit with their flippers and excavate an egg chamber. Sea turtles only nest every two to three years, but they can lay up to six clutches of eggs in one breeding season. A single nesting can contain as many as 230 eggs, with the average being about 130. When the last egg has been laid, the females cover the chamber with sand and return to the sea, leaving the eggs behind.

The eggs incubate in their sand chambers for two to three months, and then hatching takes place over several days. At birth, a hatchling is so small it can fit into the palm of a human hand. The newborn turtles emerge from their chambers in groups at night, when the sand is cool and there is less threat of predators. They immediately head toward the sea, guided by the moonlight and the stars' reflections on the water. But they face severe challenges during this journey, and the mortality rate is high, as many of them fall prey to shorebirds and crabs. The turtles that safely reach the ocean disappear into it and may only venture out again years later.

The cover image is a 19th-century engraving from Cuvier's Animals. The cover font is Adobe ITC Garamond. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSansMonoCondensed.