Warning: Distressing Photo Album Above
A GIANT leatherback turtle has been found dead near a pier in Phuket City, spotlighting the sad decline in turtles of all species of turtles as tourism and trawlers take over the Andaman coastline.
The turtle, a female, weighed 196 kilos and measured 157 centimetres from tip to tail. Villagers found the turtle in the water near Rassada Pier, the spot in Phuket City where tourists catch ferries to Phi Phi.
Biologists from the Phuket Marine Biology Centre plan an autopsy to see if they can determine what killed the turtle. It appeared to be about 15 years old, an ideal age for egg-laying.
Villagers believe it was probably a victim of an encounter with a trawler net, but the biologists say the turtle may have died from any one of a number of causes.
In bygone days, leatherbacks came ashore in numbers to leave eggs at Mai Khao, on Phuket's west coast, and further north at Thai Muang in Phang Nga.
There were four deposits of leatherback eggs detected at Thai Muang and two at Mai Khao last year, but nearly all were unfertilised eggs. The laying season runs from November to March.
No deposits of eggs have been detected so far this year.
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Yes indeed a giant...157 meters from head to tail...;-)
Fun apart, I am sailing around very often in my small sail dinghy and can observe that there is indeed a lot of stuff that does not belong there in the water: plastic, nets, robes general garbage as well and then of course all the stuff the eye cannot see, so there will probably be a lot less turtles in the future...unfortunately..
Posted by Bjarne on March 3, 2011 08:24
Editor Comment:
Thanks Bjarne, we'll shorten the turtle.