The Great Turtle Race - Track the Migration of 11 Leatherback Turtles

• by ~summer~
• Filed Under: Uncategorized
• Date: Apr 17,2007

Leatherback Sea Turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) have been on earth for over 65 million years. Their habitat spans the globe from the North Atlantic near the Arctic Circle to the South Pacific around New Zealand. Leatherbacks are the largest turtle, reaching a shell length of 1.7m and a mass of 700kg. They are the world’s fourth largest reptile, behind the larger crocodiles. The leatherback is the only sea turtle that lacks a hard, bony shell. It is found in all tropical and subtropical oceans, and its range has been known to extend well into the Arctic Circle!! In 1980 there were over 115,000 adult females, but there are now less than 25,000 worldwide, and they are close to extinction (IUCN Critically Endangered) in the Pacific Ocean.

The U.S. populations have been listed as endangered since 1970. If action is not taken soon to protect leatherbacks in the ocean and on nesting beaches the leatherback will disappear in our lifetime.

The Leatherback Trust, Tagging of Pacific Predators, Conservation International, Costa Rica’s Ministry of Environment and Energy, and Yahoo! invite you to join the Great Turtle Race. Follow 11 leatherback turtles on a two-week journey as they swim from their nesting sites on Playa Grande beach in Costa Rica to the Galapagos Islands. These are mama turtles returning to feeding grounds after successfully nesting.

Photo credit: Scott R. Benson, NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center

Leatherback turtles subsist on a diet of jellyfish, as well as other aquatic animals and plants. Leatherbacks mate at sea; males never leave the water once they enter it as hatchlings. Females mate every three or four years, returning to the beaches where they themselves hatched, to deposit their eggs. One female may lay as many as ten clutches in one breeding season. The interval between laying is about nine days. Mating occurs after the age of ten years.

It’s Day 2 and 9 of the turtles are making their way southwest, while 2 churn in waters close to the beach. Each sea turtle has corporate sponsorship, a great way to raise visibility of the need for conservation action, mainstream environmental protection, and, importantly, raise funds for conservation. The Great Turtle Race site has stat cards showing past stats such as number of nesting years, clutch size, etc. for each turtle being tracked. You can check out the leaderboard here.

If you’re inclined, you can support the Leatherback Trust by purchasing a T-shirt, mug or other material item heralding the leatherback here:

make custom gifts at Zazzle

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The Great Turtle Race - Track the Migration of 11 Leatherback Turtles

• by ~summer~
• Filed Under: Uncategorized
• Date: Apr 17,2007

Leatherback Sea Turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) have been on earth for over 65 million years. Their habitat spans the globe from the North Atlantic near the Arctic Circle to the South Pacific around New Zealand. Leatherbacks are the largest turtle, reaching a shell length of 1.7m and a mass of 700kg. They are the world’s fourth largest reptile, behind the larger crocodiles. The leatherback is the only sea turtle that lacks a hard, bony shell. It is found in all tropical and subtropical oceans, and its range has been known to extend well into the Arctic Circle!! In 1980 there were over 115,000 adult females, but there are now less than 25,000 worldwide, and they are close to extinction (IUCN Critically Endangered) in the Pacific Ocean.

The U.S. populations have been listed as endangered since 1970. If action is not taken soon to protect leatherbacks in the ocean and on nesting beaches the leatherback will disappear in our lifetime.

The Leatherback Trust, Tagging of Pacific Predators, Conservation International, Costa Rica’s Ministry of Environment and Energy, and Yahoo! invite you to join the Great Turtle Race. Follow 11 leatherback turtles on a two-week journey as they swim from their nesting sites on Playa Grande beach in Costa Rica to the Galapagos Islands. These are mama turtles returning to feeding grounds after successfully nesting.

Photo credit: Scott R. Benson, NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center

Leatherback turtles subsist on a diet of jellyfish, as well as other aquatic animals and plants. Leatherbacks mate at sea; males never leave the water once they enter it as hatchlings. Females mate every three or four years, returning to the beaches where they themselves hatched, to deposit their eggs. One female may lay as many as ten clutches in one breeding season. The interval between laying is about nine days. Mating occurs after the age of ten years.

It’s Day 2 and 9 of the turtles are making their way southwest, while 2 churn in waters close to the beach. Each sea turtle has corporate sponsorship, a great way to raise visibility of the need for conservation action, mainstream environmental protection, and, importantly, raise funds for conservation. The Great Turtle Race site has stat cards showing past stats such as number of nesting years, clutch size, etc. for each turtle being tracked. You can check out the leaderboard here.

If you’re inclined, you can support the Leatherback Trust by purchasing a T-shirt, mug or other material item heralding the leatherback here:

make custom gifts at Zazzle

• Tags: endangered species, environment, oceans, overidealism, science