Antecedents of Sea turtles have been around since the dinosaurs and Leatherback Sea turtles outgrow their ancient counterparts maxing out at close to 8ft. This species of turtle also has the deepest dive and stays submerged for upto 85 minutes.
Magnetite, a magnetic mineral functions as a mental compass in congruence with the magnetic poles to help sea turtles navigate through the waters. Hence they can even come back to the very beach they were born. But they stay away from the coldest oceans because they are ectothermic ( cold blooded ) reptiles and therefore use warmer waters to regulate their body temperature. Which is one of the main reasons you find sea turtles in tropical waters, especially when laying eggs.
The leatherback turtle interestingly does not have a hard shell like most species in existence today, they have a rubbery, somewhat flexible carapace. The incredible reptiles are the most widespread, scattered around 3 of the oceans all the way from Canada to Japan.
Sri Lanka is working towards playing their role in ocean conservation and have hatcheries around the coastline to help leatherbacks and many others lay eggs safely until they hatch and release them back to the sea. It is our responsibility as humans to do what we can on a personal level to help conserve and coexist with marine life and of course the closer wildlife.
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