Tania 5

Hi Everyone,
The leatherback turtle is the largest of all sea turtles. The shells alone can reach 1.6 metres long and the turtles can weigh a massive 500 kilograms. The unusual shell and the relatively large shoulders and huge front flippers make them look almost like weird sea monsters and they are the fastest swimmers of all marine turtles.

The shell is leathery and mainly black in colour. The black shell and other parts of the body has light spots.  

They are found mainly in the open sea and prefer the deep water even though they are found close to the shoreline. They prefer tropical or sub tropical climate like The Great Barrier Reef.

Leatherback turtles feed mainly on jellyfish and other soft bodies marine animals such as squid.

Entanglement in fishing gear is the main cause of death. Leatherback turtles also take longline fishing hooks and drown. The species is rare and its breeding grounds in many parts of the world are under threat, so even a few deaths each year can have a big impact on numbers.

Leatherback turtles nest in Arnhem Land as well as Queensland in Australia. They also nest in other parts of the world and these include Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Malaysia.
This species forages widely through both coastal and open ocean waters, taking food from the surface through to great depths.

It is on the critically endangered list and we can protect it by always disposing of plastic bags and other litter carefully, so a turtle doesn’t accidentally eat them and die.