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The leatherback sea turtle is unquestionably the most amazing animal on earth. Like the other remaining species of marine turtle, it left its terrestrial predecessors about 110 million years ago, developed flippers, and populated the Seven Seas---before there were Seven Seas. The world was a very different place way back then. Although humans look around at the world and imagine that the rivers, canyons, and mountains we see today have always been there, nothing could be farther from the truth. For example, today's Himalayas of Tibet and India were not mighty at all when turtles first entered the oceans. Indeed, there would be no Himalayas for sixty five million more years. Australia was connected to Antarctica when the first leatherbacks took to the sea and would not uncouple from it for about 30 million more generations of these sea animals. South America was close to West Antarctica. Another 80,000,000 years would go by before Antarctica would turn into the frigid continent of today. The South Atlantic Ocean was still forming. In fact, not only were there no Seven Seas way back then, there were only two spectacular supercontinents, not the seven continents of today. This ancient time spawned these ancient leatherbacks. When the forebears of today's leatherbacks turned to the ocean, there were no birds in the sky, no elephants, mastodons, mammoths, and not even a tiny mouse because there were no birds or mammals at all on the globet. The mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex would not walk the planet for about four hundred thousand centuries more. Yes, that is right: 400,000 centuries. Your biology teacher may have told you that dolphins and whales originated from land animals and went to sea long ago. Very impressive! Except to a sea turtle. Why? Because leatherbacks had been swimming the world's oceans for more than fifty million years before those mighty creatures---which are closely related to hippopotamus---evolved, left the land, and entered the sea, as well. These are the largest of all sea turtles and can weigh nearly two thousand pounds, They were here many eons before the first dinosaur, survived the greatest mass extinction the world has ever experienced, and flourished. But, it is not their species longevity---amazing as that is---that warrants the title of most amazing animal on earth. Consider this: we all marveled , and properly so, at Michael Phelps' 200 meter freestyle world record time. But, in the time it took him to go that distance, a huge leatherback, weighing about as much as the entire offensive line of a professional football team, would pass the thousand meter mark---more than a third of a mile ahead of Michael. In fact, this sea turtle is listed in the 1992 Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest reptile on earth! It would be a fairer race if the world's fastest man ran alongside the swimming turtle. The turtle and man would be almost even at the hundred meter mark, and the human might nose out a victory. But, the swimming leatherback would blow away a human at 400 meters. Not only can this ancient being swim five times the speed of the fastest human on earth, it may also be the world's greatest long-distance traveler. One of these giants was monitored by researchers migrating 13,000 miles---one way. In addition to its incredible speed and stamina, it is the deepest diving sea turtle on the planet, regularly diving nearly 4,000 feet underwater. For perspective, America's extraordinary nuclear submarines are allowed to operate in a maximum normal operating depth of about 1,600 feet because sea pressure at 2,400 feet could crush them. The world's most modern technology and strongest metal and composite materials are no match for the diving ability of a one hundred million year old species. There is also the incredible fact that leatherbacks are found not only in all tropical and subtropical waters on earth but have been seen as far north as the Arctic Circle, in Alaska, near Quebec, and Norway, and as far south as the Cape of Good Hope and even below New Zealand, in waters as cold as 40°F. Yet, even though they are, like all reptiles, cold blooded, they remain toasty warm because they can maintain a body temperature as much as 32°F (18°C) higher than the surrounding water. Sadly, in just three decades, man's destructive capacity and willingness to do so have decimated the numbers of this magnificent creature. Between 1980 and 2005, it is estimated that the leatherback population in Mexico declined 99% , a a disaster for this species since that country had about two thirds of the world's total leatherbacks. Mexico should not be singled out because, all across the globe, were collapsing. For example, just a few years ago Malaysia had the world's largest population of leatherbacks nests: 10,000. In 2008, there were two. Today, more than 100 countries and hundreds of conservation groups are fighting to stem the decline of this magnificent being but it remains to be seen if this most ancient of all creatures can survive my generation. Somewhere, Angels are weeping.
Article Source: http://www.321articles.com
The writer lives in sunny Costa Rica and has a popular website about Costa Rica Vacations. For many sportsfolk, Costa Rica Fishing is the highlight of their Costa Rica trip
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