Scientists from the US National Marine Fisheries Service report that a leatherback turtle which they equipped with a tracking device migrated from Indonesia to Oregon to Hawaii, total of 13,000 miles. The amazing migration took about 2 years.
Sadly, leatherbacks are facing extinction due to numerous hazards in today's oceans. They sometimes eat plastic bags causing choking, or are accidently caught in fishing nets. Numbers have begun to dwindle fast. Dr Leonardo David Raphael Michelangelo of the Turtle Defense League predicts that unless something is done leathebacks will be extinct in 30 years.
Chidren playing on the beach in Hawaii spotted the turtle thrashing about in shallow waters. One said there were sparks flying and the turtle finally came to rest when a marine biologist bystander named Costanza detached the electrical tracking device which appeared to be shortcircuiting.
Costanza claims that turtles only migrate short distances and that this one only swam the incredible distances because of the constant electric shock: "You'd swim 13, 000 miles if you had a live wire up your ass!"
