Leatherback Turtles
Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2004 12:34 pm
I saw an interesting item on CEFAX yesterday.
In 1988 a 100 year old leatherback turtle was discovered on Harlech beach, Wales. Back then no-one could understand how it got there - it was assumed that it had got lost, being 4,500 miles from the Island of it's birth.
Recent satellite tracking of leatherbacks has revealed that they spend a good deal of their adult lives in 'Northern waters' such as the Atlantic, feeding on jellyfish, which are their staple diet. Only the females return to the same beach where they hatched, to lay their own eggs.
The turtle's egg laying season has come to an end on Tobago now. There is a report on the season's turtle protection activity in The Tobago News ( http://www.thetobagonews.com )
Cheers
Steve
In 1988 a 100 year old leatherback turtle was discovered on Harlech beach, Wales. Back then no-one could understand how it got there - it was assumed that it had got lost, being 4,500 miles from the Island of it's birth.
Recent satellite tracking of leatherbacks has revealed that they spend a good deal of their adult lives in 'Northern waters' such as the Atlantic, feeding on jellyfish, which are their staple diet. Only the females return to the same beach where they hatched, to lay their own eggs.
The turtle's egg laying season has come to an end on Tobago now. There is a report on the season's turtle protection activity in The Tobago News ( http://www.thetobagonews.com )
Cheers
Steve