Читать книгу National Geographic Kids Chapters: The Whale Who Won Hearts: And More True Stories of Adventures with Animals - National Kids Geographic - Страница 7

It takes 60 to 70 days for a leatherback’s babies to come out of their eggs. While we were taking photos of the nesting leatherbacks, eggs from other nests began to hatch. We stopped to take photos as the tiny, striped hatchlings hurried across the sand. Their mothers were long gone. Leatherback babies must look to the sea for food and protection.

Did You Know?

Leatherbacks can dive as deep as 4,000 feet (1,219 m). Even the most skilled human scuba divers cannot dive much deeper than 1,000 feet (305 m).

For the lucky few who make it to adulthood, there aren’t many ocean creatures that can harm them. But humans have created new problems for these ancient (sounds like ANE-chunt) animals. I wanted to see for myself the dangers leatherbacks face once they leave the shore. It was time to get into the water!

I talked to local fishermen and found one who was interested in helping. He said leatherbacks sometimes got tangled in his fishnets. He did what he could to save them. But sometimes he was too late. If a tangled turtle is not pulled to the surface soon enough, it will drown.

The fisherman said we could follow him while he fished. If any turtles got caught, we could see how it happened. Maybe we could even help. We rented a small boat. The captain of our boat helped us sail close behind the fishing boat.

We watched as the fisherman set out a mile (1.6 km) of fishnet. Floats held up the top edge of the net. The rest of it hung down in the water, like a curtain. After several hours, the fisherman pulled in his net. Dozens of fish were caught in it. He put the fish in his boat. Then he set the net out again.

Our captain moved our boat slowly alongside the net. I sat in the front of the boat. The stars shone brightly above us. I kept an eye on the net below. I had my fins, mask, and air tank ready, in case I needed to dive.

Later that night, Mauricio and I spotted an adult turtle in the net. I quickly pulled on my diving gear and went over the side. As I swam down, I could see the leatherback struggling.

Leatherbacks never stop swimming. The turtle paddled and paddled with its long flippers. The more it paddled, the more tangled it became. I took a few pictures of it. Then I had to help it. I grabbed my knife and began to cut the net.

As I worked, the current began to wrap me up in the net, too. I had to stop helping the turtle and cut myself free first. Then I cut the turtle loose. I watched as it swam off gracefully, into the darkness of the sea.

Jellyfish, or jellies, are a leatherback’s favorite food. Jellies are mostly water, with a few minerals and a dash of protein thrown in. How do leatherbacks grow so big on a jelly diet? The answer: they eat a LOT of jellies. Scientists videotaped one leatherback eating 69 jellies in three hours. Each jelly weighed about ten pounds (4.5 kg). That’s 690 pounds (313 kg) of jellies! A leatherback’s throat is lined with three-inch (7.6-cm) spines. These spines help the turtle swallow its very slippery prey—and keep the prey from coming back up.

I found this leatherback swimming in deep water. The two yellow fish clinging to her side are called remoras.