How Many Are There Left?
The leatherback turtle lives in tropical and warm waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. It is also found in Columbia, Newfoundland, and the British Isles, south of Australia, Cape of Good Hope, and Argentina. Wow! That seems like a lot of leatherbacks are exsisting. Not really.........!
We've told you that the leatherbacks are endangered species and their population is declining. They are estimated to be about 30,000 in number. Compared to the 115,000 in 1980, their population has been decreasing by the day. The largest declines have been occuring in the Pacific coasts of Mexico and Costa Rico. The Mexico nesting population once was considered as the world's largest leatherback nesting population (65% of worldwide population). Scientists know that the leatherback population itn't as broad or large as it was in the recent years. They have studied the leatherback population in Costa Rico, the 4th largest nesting colony for the leatherbacks and Playa Gandre and they think that the survival of the leatherbacks is critical.
How is the Destruction of Nesting Beaches and Fishing Nets Affecting the Leatherback Population? Let's Find Out!
Destruction of the Nesting beaches is making leatherback turtles lose their habitat. Long Fishing Nets which are being used for catching fish and shrimps are a death trap for leatherbacks. When trapped, these turtles cannot breath and die.
Click on the links right below to observe these 2 graphs reflecting the decrease of leatherback population:
Click on the links below to learn more about how nesting beaches and long fishing nets are causes to the decrease of population: