Leatherback Sea Turtle

The Leatherback Sea Turtle is the largest among the turtles, with its shell up to 8 feet long! It is also the heaviest among the turtles, weighing as much as 1,800 pounds! The Leatherback Sea Turtle is also the fastest, swimming as fast as 22 miles per hour! This huge turtle is a daredevil, too: it eats jellyfish, even the poisonous ones!

The Leatherback Turtle's shell is very different from other turtle shells. While other turtles have a hard protective shell, the Leatherback Turtle has a shell covered with a leathery skin supported by tiny bones. This allows the Leatherback Turtle to dive up to 3,000 feet below the ocean surface. A regular turtle would be crushed from the water pressure if it went this deep.

The Leatherback Sea Turtle is dark in color with white and pink spots. It has a large, flat, round body with two pairs of very large flippers, and a short tail. Once born, Leatherback males never leave the water once they enter it. Female Leatherbacks crawl on land to nest and lay eggs.

Leatherback Sea Turtles are among the most endangered animals on earth. With 35,000 turtles left in the world, this number is fast declining. On the CRITICALLY ENDANGERED SPECIES list, these largest reptile needs to be saved, and saved now. Some reasons for their endangered status:

1. Raiding of nests - Some people collect turtle eggs for food and other reasons. An average of only ONE Sea Turtle lives for every 1,000 eggs!

2. Plastics and pollution - Pollution in the waters and on the beaches, especially plastic, are a main reason why Sea Turtles die. The turtles mistake the plastic for jellyfish, their food, and they eat the plastic, causing the plastic to choke them.

3. Habitat loss - Noise and activity on the beaches, where the Leatherback Sea Turtle nests, causes the hatchlings to crawl away from the ocean, leading to their deaths. More people on the beaches also take away from beach space that the Leatherback needs to make a nest.

4. Accidental capture - Fishing gear like nets and explosives cause much harm to the Sea Turtle population.

5. Hunting - Sea Turtles are hunted for their meat and shells, used to make combs, eyeglass frames and other products.

Leatherback Sea Turtle Fast Facts

Scientific Name: Dermochelys Coriacea
Type: Reptile
Diet: Carnivore
Height: 6 feet long
Weight: 600 to 1, 800 pounds
Range: Oceans of the world
Diet: Jellyfish and soft-bodied animals

To make your own Sea Turtle puppet/marionette, click on the image or here.