The leatherback turtle

If Guiana had an emblem, it would probably be the leatherback turtle. In fact, Guiana is known the world over by marine biologists for its beaches which constitute the largest nesting site for marine turtles of the entire Atlantic ocean. The turtles lay their eggs between April and July and the hatchlings emerge anywhere between 80 to 120 days afterwards.

The leatherback turtle is the largest of all turtles and can weigh up to 700 kilos. The energy they exert just to struggle up the beach to lay their eggs forces your admiration. Although they lay over a hundred eggs, only one or two hatchlings will survive to adulthood.

The leatherback turtle is extremely vulnerable to predators and is an endangered species today. The hatchlings are gobbled up by birds, crabs, fish and stray dogs. The adult turtles are accidently killed in fishing by getting entangled in nets. Illegal Brazilian fishermen, pushed by poverty, are responsible for many deaths. However, the leatherback turtles are such an important ally to man because their favorite food is jellyfish! As the turtle population keeps dropping, the number of jellyfish is exploding everywhere in the world because the leatherback turtle is just about their only predator.

Yet the leatherback turtle can't always see the difference between a jellyfish and a floating plastic bag. Therefore, the biggest threat to the survival of the leatherback turtle is simply human activity.

Thanks, Jack, for letting me borrow your photos for this article.