British Sign Language Glossaries of Curriculum Terms

BSL Marine Glossary - Leatherback Turtle - definition

Translation:

Leatherback Turtles are sea creatures, they are one of seven different species of sea turtle with evolutionary roots that can be traced back 100 million years! With a life span of 45 years, Leatherbacks have a soft, black carapace with white or yellow speckles. They have strong front and rear flippers that help them move through the sea. Leatherback Turtles are large, measuring 2m in length and weigh 900kg. They can be found all over the world, in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans and the Mediterranean, travelling via the ocean currents of the Atlantic or Pacific Gyres.

Leatherbacks are migratory and once they mature and become sexually mature, they can travel 3700 miles from their feeding grounds to where they were born to reproduce. When they arrive at their breeding grounds the female finds a mate and then buries her eggs on the beach. Sixty days later the eggs hatch and babies emerge and make their way to the sea.

Interestingly, Leatherbacks have the ability to control their body temperature in a way that other sea creatures, that are cold blooded, can't. They use gigantothermy to adapt to cold water, combining their thick blubber with a specialised circulatory system. The Leatherback's Conservation Status is 'Vulnerable'. They are naturally preyed upon, but human activity is also having an impact - hotel lights confuse the emerging newborn so that they struggle to find the sea. Leatherbacks also get caught up in fishing nets. Climate Change is a threat because the temperature of the sand affects the numbers of females and males that are born; when the temperature is warmer, more females are born and when it's cooler, there are more males.