How Leatherbacks Breed Females come out of the water at night and crawl slowly up the beach. They dig a hole with their flippers and lay about 70 eggs. Then they return to the sea. About 60 days later the young turtles hatch and move quickly towards the water.
• Comprehension: Discuss the answers to questions 6–8 with your class. • Question 7 should provide information for the ‘L’ column of the KWL chart. After completing the chart, ask: What else would you like to know about turtles? Where could you find this information? • Ask students to name and describe animals which are found in your country. 7 What is the most interesting thing you learned about turtles? 8 Can you think of any other ways of protecting turtles? What could people do? 1 How big are leatherback turtles? 2 Where do female turtles lay their eggs? 3 How long does it take for the eggs to hatch? 4 In which section of the text can you find information about young turtles? 5 The greatest danger faced by turtles is caused by: a) other animals b) jellyfish c) people 6 Why is it important to protect turtles? Protecting Leatherbacks If leatherbacks are not protected, soon there will be none left. On many Caribbean islands there are groups which are taking action. They protect turtle nests, and look after the young turtles carefully until they are old enough to survive in the sea. Dangers to Leatherbacks About 25 years ago there were 115,000 female leatherbacks. Now there are only 25,000. Humans are the greatest danger they face. Poachers steal their eggs or kill turtles for their meat. Turtles are often caught in fishing nets. Sometimes people walk on turtle nests by accident and destroy the eggs.
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