Sea Turtles
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To better understand the complex lives and conservation needs of sea turtles, Asian scientists and their Zoo scientist colleagues have attached satellite transmitters on olive Ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) in Orissa, India, as well as green turtles (Chelonia mydas) from the Turtle Islands, between Sabah, Malaysia, and Tawi-Tawi, Philippines. Sea turtles can travel thousands of miles, crossing international boundaries. The data collected from tracked turtles will help conservationists get a clearer picture of what these long-lived ocean wanderers need to survive. Hunted for their meat, skin, and eggs, caught ever more frequently in fishing gear, and facing habitat loss on their few key nesting beaches, these turtles face an uncertain future.
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Protecting egg-laying sites
is an important step in sea turtle conservation
(left). A sea turtle lays her eggs (right). (John Seidensticker) |
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ZooGoer 32(2) 2003.
Copyright 2003 Friends of the National Zoo.
All rights reserved.
