The leatherback is the largest sea turtle. It can grow up to 2 metres long and weigh 636 kg. Its shell, which is like a thick leathery skin, has the texture of hard rubber. It is a circumglobal species, that it range throughout almost all the oceans of the world. It nests on tropical beaches in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Once abundant throughout the world's oceans, all eight species of sea turtles are now threatened or endangered. Leatherback populations have plummeted in recent years. On one important nesting beach in Mexico, there were 6,500 nests recorded in 1986, but only 50 by 1993.

LIFE OF THE LEATHERBACK
   Leatherbacks' primary food is jellyfish. They also will eat fish, mollusks, squid, sea urchins, and other marine creatures. Adult leatherbacks aolitary, except on occasion gathering to feed in areas with large numbers of jellyfish. Sea turtles remarkable swimmers swimming at 22 miles per hour. They can also survive in cold waters. Females lay eggs on the beach in the night. Although a female may lay as many as 100 to 150 eggs at time, only a few will survive to grow to adulthood and breed. They are a food for natural predators such as raccoons, seabirds, sharks, and large fishes. If it can survive to adulthood, spending as long as 10 to 15 years at sea, a turtle will return to breed at the same beach where it hatched.

SWIMMING AGAINST THE TIDE
   Leatherbacks are now endangered due to overexploitation by human beings for consumption, and for their shells and other parts. As a natural defense, sea turtles lay a large number of eggs. This defense is breaking down under the pressure of increased human harvesting and disturbance of nesting beaches. In some areas people harvest nearly 100 percent of eggs immediately after they are laid. Domestic dogs and pigs, which accompany human settlement, also are lethal predators of turtle eggs and hatchlings. Habitat loss, irresponsible fishing methods and pollution have also contributed to the decline in Leatherback numbers.

CONSERVATION
    Several conservation methods have been introduced to save and protect the leatherbacks. The United States and 115 other countries have banned the import or export of sea turtle products through CITES. Projects on the protection of nesting turtles, eggs, and hatchlings have also been carried out, for example in Malaysia. Hatcheries and headstarting are two programs aimed at increasing survival of sea turtles in the wild. Steps are also taken to reduce the deaths of sea turtles in fishing nets. Educating the public about the impacts of using exotic animal products is still the key to the survival of sea turtles.