Guyana Spotlight: Protecting Guyana’s Endangered Turtles

The leatherbacks are world travelers, found in tropical and temperate marine waters all over the world. They are the oldest and the largest of all living sea turtle species and the fourth-heaviest modern reptile behind three crocodilians. These toothless creatures typically live 30 years, but reports claim they can often live to 50 and up to 100 years. Distinguishable from other modern sea turtles by the lack of a bony shell, its carapace is covered by skin and oily flesh. It is the only living species in the genus Dermochelys and family Dermochelyidae.

Despite existing since the age of the dinosaurs, leatherback turtles are vulnerable today. They are the deepest diving turtles and have been documented at depths greater than 4,000 feet.

Although sea turtles spend almost all their lives in water, females come up to the land to nest. Once on the beach, they are slow movers and have been targeted as prey by dogs, jaguars and humans.

Earlier this year, as part of ExxonMobil’s permit studies, four green turtles and three leatherback turtles from the Shell Beach Protected Area were tagged in a collaborative effort between three local companies and international scientists affiliated with the Guyana-linked Chelonian Research institute.

With the use of brand new technology that allowed the scientists to validate data (in some cases, for the first time), the goal was to assess the “inter-nesting habitats” of turtles, the distances they travel and the depths at which they dive. The turtle data is still being analyzed, but the greens were last seen circling off the northern coast of Brazil. One of the leatherbacks was already 3,500 km north of Guyana and moving toward Nova Scotia!