How big are leatherback turtles?

• Leatherbacks are the largest of all the sea turtles, measuring up to 2.4m (6 ft) long and 1.6m (4 ft) wide.
• The average weight of a leatherback turtle is around 400 kg (880 pounds).
• The maximum recorded weight of a leatherback is 916 kg (2015 pounds).

Where do leatherback turtles live?

There are several populations of leatherback turtles that live in very different parts of the world:

• Eastern Pacific leatherbacks nest in Costa Rica and Mexico and travel to both South America (off Chile and Peru) and California.
• Western Pacific leatherbacks nest in areas such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Mariana Islands of the South Pacific and travel across the Pacific Ocean to the west coast of the US and Canada to forage for food.
• Atlantic leatherbacks nest in places like the southern states of the US, the Caribbean, Trinidad, French Guyana, Mexico, and Western Africa. They travel to various locations throughout the Atlantic as far as the Eastern Coast of Canada even to South Africa and the United Kingdom.

How are they able to live in the cold water?

Although most reptiles are cold-blooded, leatherbacks have a special ability that allows them to change their body temperature -- this means that they can keep themselves warm to survive in the colder water that other turtles might not tolerate for very long. They have layers of fat under their leathery skin that insulate them from the cold, and have a specialized circulatory system that minimizes heat loss.

What do leatherback turtles eat?

• Leatherbacks’ main source of food are jellyfish (jellies) like the Portugese Man-of-War, the lion’s mane, the cannonball jelly and other jelly-like animals.
• Leatherbacks can eat their body weight in jellies in one day!
  Leatherback turtles have many rows of spikes in their throats to help them hold their slippery food down.
• Unfortunately, turtles often mistake plastic bags or fishing line for jellies, which can injure them and can sometimes be fatal.

How do leatherback turtles reproduce?

• Leatherbacks dig nests in the sand like other sea turtles, but they often lay many more eggs in their nests. In one nesting season females can lay 12 clutches (groups), with 65 to 85 eggs in each clutch.
• Leatherbacks also lay eggs of various sizes in a single clutch. Small, yolkless eggs are laid alongside the viable eggs -- they are believed to act as spacers which allow air to circulate in the nest.

Did you know?

• Leatherback turtles do not have a hard shell like other sea turtles. Instead they have a thick layer of cartilage (like the hard material found in your ears and nose) strengthened by thousands of tiny bones.
• Leatherbacks travel the furthest distances (up to 12,000 km) and dive the deepest (1200m) of all the turtles.
• Leatherback turtles show an amazing knack for travelling across the oceans. They don’t even use the major ocean currents to swim to where they are going. In fact, the turtles completely disregard the direction of the currents.

How many leatherback turtles are there in the world?

• Leatherback turtles are listed as endangered on the Species at Risk List in Canada, and are on the Endangered Species List in the United States.
• There are an estimated 30,000 leatherbacks left in the world (compared to 115,000 in 1980).
• The Pacific populations are facing extinction and the Atlantic population is being caught as bycatch (living things caught unintentionally while fishing) at an unsustainable rate.

What are some of the problems leatherback turtles are facing?

• Leatherbacks are facing extinction mainly due to human impacts on their environment.
• Nesting sites are disturbed through tourism or commercial development, and poachers often harvest eggs for food.
  Adult turtles are sometimes captured for food and their body parts are used for various commercial products (like traditional medicines).
• Turtles are killed and injured in collisions with boats.
  Rubbish dumped at sea or from land may be mistaken for food and swallowed by the turtles, causing severe injuries and death.
• Turtles become trapped in fishing nets and drown.

What is being done to help the leatherback turtles?

• The most important thing you can do to help the turtles is to keep our beaches and oceans clean. Log on to the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup Web site at www.vanaqua.org to get involved.
• Some fishing companies are outfitting nets with Turtle Exclusion Devices (TEDs) that allow turtles to escape the nets when caught accidentally.
• Protection of nesting sites has been increased in countries like Mexico, Costa Rica and the United States. National Parks have been created to prevent further commercial development and the illegal actions of poachers.
• Fitting turtles with satellite tracking devices has helped to find out more about where the turtles go and how many there are in the ocean.

Where can I get more information on leatherback turtles?

There are many helpful Web sites available to learn more about leatherbacks and other sea turtles, and to find out what YOU can do to help save them from extinction. Visit the Vancouver Aquarium's Web site, www.vanaqua.org, and stay tuned for more leatherback information and activities.

• North Atlantic Leatherback Turtle Working Group www.seaturtle.ca
• Turtle Trax www.turtles.org
• World Wildlife Fund www.panda.org/species/leatherback
• Leatherback Task Force www.euroturtle.org
• Rantau Abang Turtle Hatchery www.interknowledge.com/malaysia/rantau.html
• Las Baulas Leatherback Turtle Project www.leatherback.org
• Space for Species www.spaceforspecies.ca

References:

Lutz, Peter and John Musick. 1996. The Biology of Sea Turtles. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Langton, Tom. 1999. “Hell for Leatheries.” BBC Wildlife, 17(3): 10-17
Schuett, Gordon and Ryan Sawby. 2001. “Seaturtles: The ‘Excellent Fishe’ in Cyberspace.” Fauna, July/August: 38-42.
Spotila, James, et al. 1998. “Worldwide Population Decline of Dermochelys coriacea: Are Leatherback Turtles Going Extinct?” www.coas.drexel.edu/environ/leatherback.popdeck.html. 7/16/02.
Waldichuk, Michael. 1987. “Sea Turtles -- Endangered Species.” Marine Pollution Bulletin, 18(12): 623-627.
Watt, E.M. 2002. Leatherback Turtles (Untamed World Series). Austin, New York. Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishers.

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