Turtle Swims Longest Distance Record
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A leatherback turtle was tracked swimming from the coast of the Papua province in Indonesia to Oregon, US, in what may be the longest journey for a marine vertebrae between breeding and feeding sites as it searched for food — an epic 12,774 miles (20,500 kilometers) which took 647 days.
Leatherback turtle fitted with a satellite tracking device heads for the sea on
July 25, 2003, on a remote beach in Indonesia’s Papua province.
Photo AP / World Wildlife Fund, N.J.Tangkepayung
“This is an animal perfectly suited for doing this kind of journey.” said Scott Benson, research fishery biologist for the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service, who helped track the turtle and presented details of the journey at a sea turtle symposium last month.
Leatherback turtle fitted with a satellite tracking device heads for the sea on
July 25, 2003. Photo AP / World Wildlife Fund, N.J.Tangkepayung
The longest distance of 9 turtles tagged in 2003, was the leatherback that reached Oregon and then headed to Hawaii before the battery on the satellite transmitter gave out, Benson said.
The research was endeavored in hopes to boost international efforts to save the endangered species.
Leatherbacks have roamed the oceans for 100 million years, but researchers at the US National Marine Fisheries Service in California say commercial fishing makes the oceans too dangerous for the globe-trotting sea turtles, which face extinction if no action is taken.
“Migrations of this magnitude expose animals to a multitude of risks from fisheries on the high seas.” Scott Benson and Peter Dutton, scientists with the NMFS in California.
“Effective conservation requires a better understanding of migratory routes and destinations to understand and mitigate the risks at sea.”
Members of a World Wildlife team with a leatherback turtle on July 20, 2003, on the beach in Indonesia’s Papua province. The team had just placed a satellite tracking device on the turtle. Photo AP / NOAA, Scott R. Benson
The leatherback turtle is the largest and heaviest of all living turtles which can grow up to 9 feet (2.75 meters) in length. It can be easily differentiated from other modern sea turtles by its lack of a shell — instead, the carapace of the leatherback turtle is covered by skin and the turtle’s oily flesh.
Like other sea turtles, the leatherback’s flattened forelimbs are specially adapted for swimming in the open ocean. The leatherback’s flippers are the largest in proportion to its body amongst sea turtles. Leatherback front flippers can grow up to 108 inches (270 centimeters) in large specimens.
The leatherback is the world’s most endangered sea turtle. Benson estimated fewer than 5,000 adult females currently live in the Pacific region. Males can’t be counted easily since they don’t come to shore.
Conservationists estimate the breed could become extinct within 30 years. Turtles “face a myriad of risks from things like ingesting debris like plastic, to travelling through areas that are used by multinational fisheries — fisheries that would catch [the turtles] in the course of trying to catch fish.” Benson said.
Scott Benson, left, of the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Services helps attach
a satellite tracking device to a leatherback turtle on July 20, 2003.
Photo AP / World Wildlife Fund, N.J.Tangkepayung
Benson and Dutton went to Indonesia in 2001 hoping to track some turtles using satellite transmitters, confirm their transpacific route and induce action to prevent their extinction. Their research illustrated the animals ranged from the South China Sea to the Sea of Japan to the North Pacific.
This female adult began her journey in 2003 on a nesting beach in Jamursbamedi in Papua province. Benson and Dutton tracked the leatherback and her hunt for food for 647 days until the transmitter’s battery ran out just off Hawaii.
“It’s the old adage of not putting all your eggs in one basket.” Benson said. “If a foraging ground was bad one year, maybe another foraging ground would be good. Some portion of the population would always be able to find food.”
Graphic shows a leatherback turtle’s 12, 774 mile journey across the
Pacific Ocean after nesting in Papua, Indonesia.
Peter Pritchard, a turtle expert and director of the Chelonian Research Institute in Florida, said he wasn’t surprised to learn how far the turtle travelled. “It’s possible and only limited by the geography of the world.”
“They are masters of the ocean. There is a tremendous amount of muscle in the front. This is a powerful fishing machine and remarkable diving machine.” he said.
Benson called for action to protect leatherback turtles as they roam the seas. “It will be the responsibility of many countries to ensure the species survives in the Pacific Ocean for future generations.” he said.
“It’s an animal that doesn’t recognize international boundaries. You can protect the nesting beaches but if you can’t protect the animal in the water, you haven’t done anything.”
About Leatherback Turtles
As the last surviving member of its family, the leatherback turtle has several distinguishing characteristics — its most notable feature is that it lacks the bony carapace of the other extant sea turtles. Its carapace is covered by its thick, leathery skin with embedded minuscule bony plates. Seven distinct ridges arise from the carapace, running from the front-to-back margin of the turtle’s back. The turtle’s dorsal is colored dark grey to black with a sporadic scattering of white blotches and spots.
Leatherbacks are the reptile world’s deepest-divers. Some have been found to be capable of descending to depths deeper than 3,940 feet (1,200 meters).
They’re also among the fastest reptiles in existence — the 1992 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records lists the leatherback turtle with the fastest speed of any reptile at 32 feet ( 9.8 meters) per second, 22 miles per hour (35.28 kilometers).
The leatherback is found in all tropical and subtropical oceans, and its range has been known to extend well into the Arctic Circle.
They’re found primarily in the open ocean, preferring deep water, but are most often seen within sight of land. Feeding grounds have been determined to be closer to land, in waters barely offshore.
Leatherback turtles begin life as hatchlings, bursting out from the sands of their nesting beaches. Immediately after hatching the baby turtles are already in danger of predators. Many are eaten by birds, crustaceans or other reptiles before they even reach water. Once they reach the ocean they’re generally not seen again until maturity. Very few turtles survive this mysterious period to become adults.
Photo AP / Kent Gilbert
Mating between leatherback turtles occurs at sea. Males never leave the water once they enter it unlike females which crawl onto land to nest. After encountering a female, the male uses head movements, nuzzling, biting or flipper movements to determine her receptiveness.
Females are known to mate every 2 to 3 years, but they have been noted to be capable of breeding and nesting annually. Fertilization is internal, and multiple males usually mate with a single female. However, studies have shown that this process does not provide the offspring with any special advantages.
Visit Seaturtle to learn more about these magnificent creatures.
Sources: Yahoo News, PC Alberta and Wikipedia
Tags:animal animals bizarre leatherback longest distance odd reptile reptiles satellite tracking sea turtles Turtle turtles unusual world record
I read this article earlier this morning. Two things struck me. First, the battery on that tracking device worked for 2 years. Why can’t I get batteries like that for some of my gadgets. Second, it seems amazing that a turtle could make such a long journey without any mishaps. Isn’t the ocean full of vicious predators, who would view this turtle as a delicious morsel.
That turtle is replacing shamoo, as my biggest ocean dwelling hero.
If not for the battery that gave out in Hawaii, the distance could possibly be a lot further.
Truly amazing feat by a remarkable global citizen and master of the ocean.
I was very amazed to know that a turtle could travel this much distance and he could remain in water for such a long time. I wonder from where he would have managed to get his food and survive in between those deadly predators.
Hahaha, like the Eveready Energizer Bunny, she just keeps going and going, Golf
It is quite the feat that she’s survived against all odds of vicious predators, and one of the reasons that they currently face extinction, among other things such as fisheries.
Definitely, Betshopboy. That’s quite the amazing record as it is.
What surprised me even more, Weight is the fact that males don’t come inland at all.
Amazing, the turtle take journey across the Pacific ocean.
It surely is Viva
wow, that trip took him almost 2 years to complete! And I get annoyed at an hour flight delay.
Hahaha, at least he had scenery to take in rather than sitting in a stuffy airport, Jason
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