The most comprehensive book ever written on leatherback sea turtles. Weighing as much as 2,000 pounds and reaching lengths of over seven feet, leatherback turtles are the world’s largest reptile. These unusual sea turtles have a thick, pliable shell that helps them to withstand great depths—they can swim more than one thousand meters below the surface in search of food. And what food source sustains these goliaths? Their diet consists almost exclusively of jellyfish, a meal they crisscross the oceans to find. Leatherbacks have been declining in recent decades, and some predict they will be gone by the end of this century. Why? Because of two primary factors: human redevelopment of nesting beaches and commercial fishing. There are only twenty-nine index beaches in the world where these turtles nest, and there is immense pressure to develop most of them into homes or resorts. At the same time, longline and gill net fisheries continue to overwhelm waters frequented by leatherbacks. In The Leatherback Turtle, James R. Spotila and Pilar Santidrián Tomillo bring together the world’s leading experts to produce a volume that reveals the biology of the leatherback while putting a spotlight on the conservation problems and solutions related to the species. The book leaves us with options: embark on the conservation strategy laid out within its pages and save one of nature’s most splendid creations, or watch yet another magnificent species disappear.

Marine biologist James R. Spotila has spent much of his life unraveling the mysteries of these graceful creatures and working to ensure their survival. In "Sea Turtles," he offers a comprehensive and compelling account of their history and life cycle based on the most recent scientific data and suggests what we can be done to save them. Illustrated with stunning, full-color photographs. 0-808-8007-6$24.95 / Johns Hopkins University Press

Written by two of the Southeast's foremost authorities on sea turtle conservation, this is an accessible, fully illustrated guide to the species that frequent the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States. No one who encounters a sea turtle soon forgets it. The leatherback, for instance, can grow to huge proportions, commonly approaching eight feet in length and more than half a ton in weight. Powerful swimmers, they are also among the deepest divers of all air-breathing sea creatures. Despite these assets, the survival of the leatherback, like that of all sea turtle species, is under constant threat from commercial fishing operations, overdevelopment of nesting grounds, pollution, and predation by introduced species. The guide opens with comprehensive coverage of the sea turtle's evolution, juvenile and adult life cycles, nesting, diet and feeding, disease and parasites, predators, and conservation issues. Each subsequent chapter is dedicated to a particular turtle species: loggerhead, leatherback, Kemp's ridley, green sea turtle, hawksbill, and olive ridley. The account of each species describes distribution, habitats, general appearance, life history and behavior, and conservation. For each species, photographs of hatchlings and adults and a map showing distribution and migration provide further information. Sea turtles have been swimming the seas for one hundred million years. Yet all of the species in this book—indeed, all sea turtles worldwide—are on U.S. and international endangered lists. Biologists Carol Ruckdeschel and C. Robert Shoop have dedicated their careers to learning about sea turtles—and to ensuring that we understand that we are stakeholders in the fate of these ancient creatures. With this guide in hand, readers will be better equipped to understand sea turtle biology and support sea turtle conservation efforts.

Describes the physical characteristics, behavior, and habitat of the leatherback turtle and discusses some of the reasons it is in danger of extinction.

Leatherback sea turtles face one of their lives' biggest challenges as soon as they're hatched. Crawling out of their eggs on the sandy shore, they hurry to the sea in a race to escape those who see them as a tasty meal. If they survive and thrive, they can grow longer than an adult male is tall and weigh as much as a small car! Learn more about these amazing animals, including where they live, what they eat, the many challenges they face in their lives, and what you can do to help.

Leatherbacks are sometimes called the last of the dinosaurs because their ancient ancestors lived when the dinosaurs did. Their ability to swim long distances may be one of the reasons they survived whatever killed most of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. In modern times, one leatherback swam from Indonesia to Oregon. It had traveled 12,774 miles in 647 days, the longest distance ever tracked for a marine animalThese sea turtles are also known for returning to the same nesting sites from which they hatched. Hatchling leatherbacks make a mad dash from the sand to the sea to avoid air and land predators. While gains have been made to improve the turtles' chances against commercial fishing techniques, humans have continued building on nesting beaches and polluting the oceans. Find out what other threats the leatherbacks face, and what you can do to help protect these endangered reptiles of the sea.

Audisee® eBooks with Audio combine professional narration and text highlighting to engage reluctant readers! "Can you hear me? Scritch, scratch. I'm a little sea turtle inside an egg." Follow a hatchling's treacherous journey from nest to sea. Longtime science writer Stephen Swinburne creates an engaging first-person narrative from the sea turtle's perspective. Gorgeous photographs by Guillaume Feuillet capture the drama of the hatchlings' race to safety. Back matter includes information on the life cycle of leatherback sea turtles, tips for how readers can assist with sea turtle conservation, and recommended further reading.