The Return of the Leatherback Turtle

Malaysia witnessed the return of the Leatherback Turtle last month after a one year absence.
The leatherback Turtle can grow up to 180 cm and 600 kilogram in weight. They are the largest of all sea turtles.
The biggest ever recorded leatherback turtle was a male stranded on a Welsh beach that reached 256 cm long and weighed 916 kg.

The nesting of the Leatherback Turtle fell drastically in Malaysia due to over
fishing, pollution and poaching.

While 50 years ago there where around 10,000 female turtles laying there eggs every year on the beaches in Malaysia, the number dropped drastically with only 800 in the eighties and even none last year.

As it becomes increasingly more difficult to find male Leatherback Turtles, most of the eggs found are not fertilized. No eggs hatched since 2000 because of this.

So even today after two Turtles returned to the beaches in Malaysia there is still big skepticism for the survival of the species.