pelf-ism is contagious

Not too long ago, Deep Sea News — one of the Scienceblogs — organized a Megavertebrate Week from 15th to the 21st of April. A lot of articles were published on whales, elephant seals and you guessed it, turtles, throughout the week and I had a lot of fun reading them and learning new stuff. So I thought you might benefit from the articles as much as I’ve enjoyed them. But we’ll only be talking turtles today, OK? *smiles*

• Leatherback turtles: Going where few air-breather dare talks about the deep dives that leatherback turtles are capable of making. Researchers have recorded leatherbacks diving to over 1,000 meters in different ocean basins (maximum reported dive was 1,230 m in the North Atlantic). For comparison purposes, a certified SCUBA Open Water diver can only dive up to 20m (or 60ft).
• From the desk of Zelnio presents some basic yet interesting facts on the leatherback turtles, Dermochelys coriacea. For example, do you know an adult leatherback turtle can grow more than 2m (6 1/2ft) long, regularly weigh over 500kg (~1000lbs)??
• Sea turtles are bloggers too! Mr Leatherback has become so popular that he blogs daily, keeps a website on MySpace, and he’s friends with rock stars like Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam. Thanks to generous funding from Conservation International, Mr. Leatherback has traveled the world from Paris to Eqypt, and now, Mr. Leatherback is an online phenomenon.

OK.. Is that all?

No, of course not! In fact, eleven leatherback turtles are competing in the Great Turtle Race from Costa Rica to Galapagos. The Great Turtle Race, a unique international sea turtle conservation event bringing corporate sponsors together with conservation organizations, is taking place from April 16 to April 29 in a global bid to raise awareness and funds for the critically endangered leatherback turtle.

The sponsored turtles have been equipped with satellite tags and are “racing” toward feeding areas south of the Galapagos Islands after nesting at Playa Grande in Costa Rica’s Las Baulas National Park, the primary nesting area for leatherbacks in the Pacific.

Activities at the Great Turtle Race include an opportunity to choose your favorite turtle in the race (Billie finished first, and Stephanie Colburtle, in honour of Stephen Colbert is just 14 miles from the finishing line!!); an interactive animation of the habitats and hazards along the leatherbacks’ journey; original blogs by scientists, students, Mr. Leatherback as the commentator; as well as Great Turtle Race educational materials.

So what can I do to help?

• Keep plastics out of lakes, rivers, and oceans.
• Switch to reusable cloth bags.
• Eat seafoods that don’t hurt sea turtles and other marine animals.
• Keep informed about leatherbacks and other sea turtles. After the race ends on April 30, follow your turtle by going to http://www.topp.org. And check out other turtle species at http://www.seaturtlestatus.org.
• Join other people like you who care about sea turtles (like me la *hints*) and are getting involved in campaigns to change policies to protect sea turtles and their pals.

Oh, this is getting very interesting! Where can I find more information on the turtles?

• Asian Turtle Conservation Network
• British Chelonia Group
• Seaturtle.org
• Tortoise Trust
• Turtle Survival Alliance
• World Chelonian Trust
• Turtles of The World

Err.. Is there an easier way to get more updates on turtles without having to bawl my eyes out reading those sites?

Yes, of course there’s an easier way. In fact, there are 2 easier ways:

• Click this RSS button to subscribe to my feeds
• Receive updates via email. You will receive your updates at 0800 (GMT) every morning (yes, I set it that way) *winks*