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Leatherback Turtle Facts:

  1. 1. The leatherback sea turtle’s sense of smell is sharper than that of any dog, and they can hear low-pitched sounds as well as a human even though a thick skin covers their ear sockets.
  2. 2. The largest leatherback sea turtle on record washed up deceased on the cost of Wales (UK) in 1988. It weighed over 2,000 pounds and measured 9 feet in length! It was estimated to be approximately 100 years old. The turtle had been drowned from entanglement in fishing gear.
  1. 3. Leatherback turtles are listed as endangered on the species at risk list in Canada, and are on the Endangered species list in the United States. There are estimated to be between 34,000 and 36,000 nesting females left worldwide (compared to 115,000 nesting females in 1980). The pacific population has suffered the most over the last 20 years with as few as 2,300 adult females now remaining, making the Pacific leather back the world’s most endangered marine turtle population.