Hug This Animal: Leatherback Turtle
April 11, 2008 by Peggy
The leatherback turtle, a species that’s more than a hundred million years old, is facing extinction.
Leatherback turtles are listed as critically endangered by the IUCN Red List. Fewer than 2,300 adult females remain in the Pacific region, making the Pacific leatherback the most endangered of marine turtles. Leatherback turtles live as far south as Africa and as far north as Alaska. The global population estimate is around 40,000.
Why are leatherback turtles in trouble?
• Egg stealing (heavy demand in Latin America)
• Death by fishing nets (bycatch)
• Pollution (Plastic bags kill turtles who mistake them for jellyfish. Chemicals from plastics are also …read more