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.

Learn why leatherback sea turtles are endangered, where they live, how many there are, and what people are doing to save them. See leatherback sea turtles in their habitat, and learn what they eat, and how they treat their babies.

The life of a sea turtle between 1778 and it's capture and release by a member of Captain Cook's crew off the coast of Hawaii in 1778 and it's capture and release by a tuna boat off the coast of California in 1925. The sea turtles encounters with whalers, jellyfish, dolphins, sharks, storms and sea horses.

A study of the leatherback turtle details the distressing decline of sea turtles in the Pacific, as well as their remarkable recovery in the Atlantic to illuminate how human intervention can both harm and preserve the natural world.

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 animal. These 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.

"Simple text and photographs present Leatherback Turtles, how they look, where they live, and what they do"--Provided by publisher.