Leatherback Sea Turtle: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Turtles · day 2 of 7

Five facts

1. Some adult leatherbacks have had core body temperatures 18 °C above the water they swam in.
2. Adult leatherbacks live almost entirely on jellyfish. They follow them, preferring deeper water by day and shallower water at night.
3. In big leatherbacks, the front flippers can span 2.7 m tip to tip, the biggest of any sea turtle, even for body size.
4. Leatherbacks are among the deepest-diving sea animals and chase prey below 1,000 m.
5. One tracked leatherback swam from Indonesia to the US on a 20,000 km foraging journey lasting 647 days.

The quiz

1. How much warmer than the water have adult leatherbacks' core temperatures been found?

• 8 °C
• 18 °C (correct)
• 28 °C
• 38 °C

Core temperatures were found 18 °C above the water.

2. When do leatherbacks prefer shallower water?

• In the daytime
• At high tide
• At night (correct)
• In winter

They prefer shallower water at night, following the jellyfish.

3. How far can a large leatherback's front flippers stretch from tip to tip?

• Up to 2.7 m (correct)
• Up to 0.27 m
• Up to 1.7 m
• Up to 4.7 m

Front flippers can reach 2.7 m from tip to tip.

4. How deep have leatherbacks been known to chase prey?

• Only near the surface
• No deeper than 50 m
• Deeper than 1,000 m (correct)
• Deeper than 10,000 m

They chase prey deeper than 1,000 m.

5. How many days did a tracked leatherback's 20,000 km journey take?

• 247
• 647 (correct)
• 347
• 847

The 20,000 km journey lasted 647 days.

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