Bali sea turtles set free after poacher arrests

Yahoo – AFP, 5 August 2020

Rescuers released two dozen green sea turtles on Kuta beach near Denpasar
in Bali after police arrested seven alleged poachers

Around two dozen green turtles were released back to the wild in Bali on Wednesday after the endangered creatures were rescued from poachers on the Indonesian holiday island.

Marine officials carefully guided the giant reptiles as they thrashed their flippers in the sand to propel themselves toward the water.

The turtles were among 36 seized after a raid last month that saw the arrest of several suspected traffickers -- who could face five years behind bars if convicted under Indonesia's wildlife protection laws.

The turtles are taken from a truck to Kuta beach near Denpasar in Bali for release

"Hopefully these 25 turtles will survive so that they can lay their eggs again," said Bali conservation agency chief Agus Budi Santosa, adding that 11 others rescued at the time would be freed later.

The turtles, which can grow to more than a metre (three feet) in length and weigh upwards of 300 kilograms (700 pounds), are under threat due to poaching and habitat destruction.

Their eggs are considered a delicacy and they are also slaughtered for their meat, skin and shells.

Death in China zoo puts rarest turtle on cusp of oblivion

Yahoo – AFP, April 15, 2019

Conservationists say there are now only three other known members of the species
left (AFP Photo/STR)

Shanghai (AFP) - The world's rarest turtle has moved a step closer to extinction after a female specimen died in a Chinese zoo, leaving behind just three known members of the species.

The Yangtze giant softshell turtle, believed to be above 90 years of age, died in Suzhou Zoo on Saturday, according to the Suzhou Daily.

The female's death came a day after zoo officials made a last-ditch effort at artificial insemination using semen from the Suzhou Zoo male, an animal estimated to be more than 100 years old, the newspaper said.

The zoo had tried unsuccessfully for several years to get the pair to mate and reproduce naturally. It will now conduct an autopsy to determine what caused the animal's death, the newspaper reported.

Besides the Suzhou Zoo male there are only two other known members of the species left, both living in the wild in Vietnam and of unknown gender, according to conservationists.

The Yangtze giant softshell turtle is the largest freshwater turtle in the world, growing to 100 cm (39 inches) long and weighing up to 100kg (220 pounds).

Its main habitat was the Yangtze River and other inland China waterways.

But aquatic life in China's rivers has suffered severely from centuries of hunting and, more recently, decades of pollution, shipping traffic and ecological disruption wrought by hydroelectric dams.

Giant tortoise thought extinct is found on Galapagos

Yahoo – AFP, February 21, 2019

The Fernandina Giant Tortoise was thought to have become extinct more than
100 years ago until this adult female was discovered by conservationists on the
Galapagos island of Fernandina on February 17, 2019 (AFP Photo/Rodrigo BUENDIA)

Quito (AFP) - Conservationists in the Galapagos Islands have found a giant tortoise from a species thought to have become extinct more than a century ago.

The adult female tortoise was found on the island of Fernandina in the west of the Pacific archipelago, and is believed to be a Fernandina Giant Tortoise, also known as Chelonoidis phantasticus, a species last sighted in 1906.

The tortoise is believed to be about 100 years old. It was taken by boat to the main Galapagos conservation center on Santa Cruz island.

The animal "exceeds 100 years" in age and is "a very old tortoise," said Washington Tapia of Galapagos Conservancy, a US non-profit dedicated to conserving the Galapagos.

Washington Tapia (L), of Galapagos Conservancy, holds a giant Galapagos tortoise 

Chelonoidis phantasticus, thought to have become extinct about a century ago (AFP

Photo/Rodrigo BUENDIA)

The islands are best known for their unique flora and fauna, which inspired naturalist Charles Darwin to write his landmark 1859 study on evolution, The Origin of Species.

Ecuador's Environment Minister Marcelo Mata announced on Twitter the discovery of a specimen "of the tortoise species Chelonoidis phantasticus, which was believed to have gone extinct more than 100 years ago."

A ministry statement said conservationists were hopeful other members of the species were on the island, judging by tracks and spores they found.

Genetic tests will be carried out to confirm the tortoise was indeed a member of the long-lost species, it said.

The Chelonoidis phantasticus species is native to Fernandina, which is uninhabited, topped by an active volcano, and one of the youngest islands in the chain.

Washington Tapia of Galapagos Conservancy, a US group focusing on preserving

 the unique flora and fauna of the Galapagos islands, transfers the newly-found giant 

tortoise from Fernandina to Santa Cruz, where conservation efforts are centered 

(AFP Photo/Rodrigo BUENDIA)

It is one of 15 known species of giant tortoises in the Galapagos, at least two of which have already vanished.

Any remaining Fernandina tortoises may be separated from each other by recent lave flows, researchers said.

In 2015, the Galapagos authorities announced the discovery of a new species of tortoise that they called Chelonoidis donfaustoi, named after Fausto Llerena, the park ranger who for 40 years looked after Lonesome George, the iconic last tortoise of his Pinta species, who died in 2012.

George become an icon of the islands, 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) off the coast of South America.

Scientists tried to save George's species by breeding him with females from a related species, but their eggs failed to hatch. After his death, his body was stuffed and is currently displayed at the Charles Darwin Research Center in the Galapagos.

The female giant tortoise is thought to be about 100 years old and scientists will 

carry out genetic tests to confirm it really is a member of the Fernandina species,

last seen in 1906. (AFP Photo/Rodrigo BUENDIA)

Giant tortoises are believed to have arrived on the remote volcanic island chain about three to four million years ago, borne by ocean currents. With no natural predators, they spread across the islands and split into different species.

Their numbers were decimated in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by sailors who took advantage of their ability to endure long periods without food or water to use them as easily stored fresh meat on Pacific voyages.

Their numbers were also hit by invasive species such as rats, pigs and dogs, which eat their eggs, while other introduced domestic animals like goats destroyed their habitat.

In captivity, the giant tortoises can easily live to more than 100 years.

Scientists have discovered that the tortoises have genetic variants linked to DNA repair, with healing power that enables their longevity.

Over 300 endangered turtles hatch in Singapore

Yahoo –AFP, 28 September 2018

Hawksbill turtles are considered critically endangered

More than 300 hawksbill turtles have hatched on beaches in Singapore this month and been released into the sea, authorities said Friday, in a boost for the critically endangered creatures.

They hatched on three beaches across the tropical Southeast Asian country, according to the National Parks Board, which oversees parks and nature reserves.

Over 100 turtles hatched on Sentosa Island, a popular tourist destination, according to the organisation that manages the island. After their nest was discovered in July, a barrier was erected around the site to protect it from monitor lizards and crabs

It was the fourth time since 1996 that eggs of the critically endangered turtles have hatched on Sentosa.

The other turtle nests were discovered at a beach on the east coast and on Satumu island south of the Singapore mainland, the parks board said. A total of 321 turtles hatched over a 10-day period from September 15.

Hawksbills get their names from their narrow pointed beaks and are found throughout the world's tropical oceans, mainly around coral reefs.

They are threatened by damage to their natural habitats from pollution and coastal developments, and are also targeted by poachers.

Their body parts are used to make turtle soup and their shells are crushed into powder for use in jelly dessert. The Hawksbill shell is also used to make products like combs and ornamental hairpins.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies the turtles as critically endangered.

Thai turtle's plastic-filled stomach highlights ocean crisis

Yahoo – AFP, 11 June 2018

The green turtle washed up on a beach in Chanthaburi province on June 4
and died two days later

Startling images of plastic shreds, rubber bands and other debris found jammed in the stomach of a green turtle in Thailand have highlighted the crisis of waste-strewn seas following the widely publicised death of a whale this month.

Thailand is one of the world's largest consumers of plastic, which kills hundreds of marine mammals and reptiles swimming off its coasts every year.

The problem grabbed public attention in the first week of June when an autopsy of a dead pilot whale found near the border with Malaysia revealed 80 plastic bags inside its stomach.

The green turtle, a protected species, suffered a similar fate after washing up on a beach in the eastern province of Chanthaburi on June 4, Weerapong Laovechprasit, a veterinarian at the Eastern Marine and Coastal Resource Research and Development Centre, told AFP.

Plastic, rubber bands, pieces of balloon and other rubbish had filled 

the turtle's intestinal track, leaving it unable to eat

Plastic, rubber bands, pieces of balloon and other rubbish had filled the turtle's intestinal tract, leaving it unable to eat and causing its death two days later.

"It was feeling weak and couldn't swim," Weerapong said. "The main cause of death is the sea trash."

Veterinarians discovered the blockage using X-rays and tried to save the turtle by feeding it intravenously, but were only able to extract the garbage after its death.

Weerapong said that in the past about 10 percent of the green turtles stranded on beaches in the area had ingested plastic or suffered infections after coming into contact with the waste, but this year about 50 percent of the incidents were trash-related.

More than half of the eight million tonnes of plastic waste dumped into the world's oceans every year comes from five Asian countries: China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand, according to a 2015 Ocean Conservancy report.

Over 100 endangered turtles hatch in Singapore

Yahoo – AFP, January 23, 2018

A baby hawksbill turtle at Tanjong Beach in Sentosa island (AFP Photo/HANDOUT)

Singapore (AFP) - Over 100 baby turtles have hatched on a Singapore beach before being released into the sea, authorities said Tuesday, in a boost for the critically endangered creatures.

A nest of Hawksbill turtle eggs was discovered in November on Sentosa, a popular resort island south of Singapore's main island.

A barrier was erected to keep the nest safe from predators, and officials carried out regular checks, said Sentosa Development Corporation, which manages the island.

On Friday 106 eggs hatched and, after officials carried out tests, the baby turtles were sent off scurrying down the beach and into the sea.

It was the third time that Hawksbill turtle eggs had hatched on Singapore's beaches since August and the first time in eight years on Sentosa, the Straits Times newspaper reported.

Hawksbills get their names from their narrow pointed beaks and are found throughout the world's tropical oceans, mainly around coral reefs.

They are threatened by damage to their natural habitats by pollution and coastal developments, and are also targeted by poachers.

Their body parts are used to make turtle soup and shells are crushed into powder for use in jelly dessert. The Hawksbill shell is also used to make products like combs and ornamental hairpins.

Lizard, turtle among more than 100 new species found in Mekong region

Yahoo – AFP, December 19, 2017

The Crocodile Lizard is a scaly reptile that hails from northern
Vietnam's evergreen forests (AFP Photo/Thomas Ziegler)

Bangkok (AFP) - A Vietnamese 'crocodile lizard' and a Thai turtle found on sale in a local market are among more than 100 new species discovered in the ecologically diverse but threatened Mekong region last year, researchers said Tuesday.

The Southeast Asian countries flanking the Mekong river, which snakes down from the Tibetan plateau to the South China Sea, are among the most biodiverse in the world.

Each year, scientists announce scores of new species discovered in the region, which includes Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

But there are fears that many more species could die out before they are found in a region whose jungle and river ecosystems are increasingly threatened by roads, dams and a thriving illegal wildlife trade.

In total, scientists confirmed 115 new species in 2016 after a lengthy vetting process, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

They include 11 amphibians, two fish, 11 reptiles, 88 plants and three mammals.

Each year, scientists announce scores of new species discovered in Thailand, 

Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam (AFP Photo/Montri SUMONTHA)

"While the global trends are worrisome, and the threats against species and their habitats here in the Greater Mekong are massive, these new species discoveries give us enormous hope," said WWF's Lee Poston.

"But we have to do more to protect their habitat and prevent them from entering the illegal wildlife trade," he added.

The new finds include a bat with a horseshoe-shaped face and a snail-eating turtle discovered by a scientists in a local market in northeastern Thailand.

The Crocodile Lizard, a scaly reptile that hails from northern Vietnam's evergreen forests, was also among the new species announced on Tuesday.

Although the reptile was first discovered in 2003, it has taken years to confirm its status as a separate subspecies.

Coal mining and pet trade poachers have gravely endangered the lizard, whose numbers are estimated to be fewer than 200, scientists said.

Two new mole species were also found in Vietnam, with researchers noting that their underground dwellings have helped protect them.

Over the past 20 years more than 2,500 new species -- amounting to around two per week -- have been discovered in the Greater Mekong, WWF said.

Graphic on new species discovered in the Mekong region pic.twitter.com/SBKFN4rB1Q

— AFP news agency (@AFP) December 19, 2017

Indonesia turtles find new freedom as they scurry into sea

Yahoo – AFP, October 17, 2016

Tourists release turtles, hatched at a conservation centre, into the ocean in
Pariaman, West Sumatra (AFP Photo/Adek Berry)

Pariaman (Indonesia) (AFP) - A group of turtles scurried down a beach and glided into the sea, enjoying their newfound freedom after being cared for at an Indonesian conservation centre.

The sea turtles were released by local tourists in Pariaman city, on western Sumatra island, in front of the Turtle Conservation Technical Operating Unit.

Turtles, which are under threat due to poaching and habitat destruction, are protected under Indonesian law and the government-run facility mainly focuses its work on olive ridley, hawksbill and green turtles.

The centre typically finds newly hatched baby turtles and looks after them for several months to ensure they will survive, before releasing them into the wild.

Once brought to the facility, they are kept in small pools which contain filtered sea water. The water is changed daily to ensure it stays fresh and the turtles' shells are given a scrub.

Six of the world's seven turtle species can be found in Indonesia, an archipelago

 of more than 17,000 islands that is home to a dizzying array of exotic wildlife

 (AFP Photo/Adek Berry)

Around 1,000 baby turtles and about 50 adults are currently at the centre, which was set up in 2009.

There is also a breeding facility where unhatched eggs are sometimes taken and kept in incubators.

The centre has handled more than 30,000 sea turtles since its establishment. Visitors can pay 10,000 rupiah (70 US cents) to release a turtle into the sea.

Six of the world's seven turtle species can be found in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands that is home to a dizzying array of exotic wildlife.

Almost all turtle species are endangered. Their eggs are considered a delicacy and they are also slaughtered for their meat, skin and shells.

Loggerhead Marinelife Center released two sub-adult loggerhead sea

turtles from its facility off Juno Beach.

Pearl Jam donates concert proceeds to Brazil mine victims

Yahoo – AFP, 21 Nov 2015

Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam performs during the fourth annual Global Citizen
 Festival in Central Park Manhattan on September 26, 2015 in New York
 (AFP Photo/Kena Betancur)

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - US rock group Pearl Jam donated proceeds from a concert in Brazil to victims of a toxic mining spill that killed 12 people and was the country's worst environmental disaster.

The group's singer Eddie Vedder interrupted a show Friday night in Belo Horizonte, capital of the southeast state of Minas Gerais -- where the disaster occurred November 5 -- and called for the mining company involved to be severely punished.

As seen on a video on the news website G1, the group got a standing ovation when Vedder said the take from that concert would go to victims of the disaster.

It struck when a dam collapsed at the waste reservoirs of an iron ore mine, unleashing a torrent of yellowish muck that all but buried a village, left 280,000 people without water and smothered thousands of fish, turtles and other animals.

Besides the 12 dead, another 12 people remain missing.

The mining facility is owned by Samarco, a joint venture between the mining giants BHP Billiton of Australia and Vale of Brazil.

Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira said Friday it was the worst environmental disaster in Brazilian history and that it will take 30 years to clean the basin of the Doce River, into which the sludge flowed.

Samarco has already been hit with damages, fines and frozen funds totalling more than $400 million.

Related Article:

Australia's Barrier Reef 'risks becoming dumping ground': WWF

Fisherman snags 'humped back' sea turtle off Taiwan's coast

Want China Times, CNA 2015-04-18

The humped back sea turtle, April 16. (Photo/CNS)

A Taitung fisherman caught an unusual looking "humped back" sea turtle in waters off the southeastern coast of Taiwan on Wednesday.

The fisherman, Tien Cheng-yung, said he was fishing in waters off Pingtung and Taitung counties when he unexpectedly pulled up a heavy turtle that had an unusually shaped shell.

Tien said his first thought was "why does it look like this?" He said he had unintentionally caught turtles before but had never seen one with a humped shell.

Tien said he shot a video of the creature with the humped back and then released it back into the sea.

When he showed the video to other veteran fishermen on Thursday, they were all amazed and said it was the first time they had seen a "humped back" turtle, Tien said.

A photo of the turtle showed its shell was shaped like a traditional Chinese farmer's hat.

Cheng I-Jiunn, a marine biology professor at National Taiwan Ocean University, said it appeared from the photo to be a regular green sea turtle species that probably had been raised in captivity or on a farm and was later abandoned or had escaped.

The unusual shape of its shell may have resulted from living in a small space, which would have forced the turtle to grow "upward," making it appear to be "humped back," he said.

Vietnam seizes over 1,000 dead endangered sea turtles

Yahoo – AFP, 25 Nov 2014

File photo taken on January 21, 2011 shows a baby green turtle crawling to the 

sea after being hatched at a turtle sanctuary in Sukamade island in East Java

province, Indonesia

Vietnam's environmental police have seized a record haul of over 1,000 endangered sea turtles which were being prepared for illegal export to China, an official said Tuesday.

"The turtles were all dead," Le Hong Thai, an official of the Ministry of Public Security's environmental police department, told AFP.

"They were meant to be processed into handicrafts for export to China," he added.

The raids were made on Wednesday last week in the resort town of Nha Trang on Vietnam's south-central coast.

"The case is under investigation, so we cannot reveal the number of detainees or any other details," Thai said.

Marine turtles are fully protected under Vietnamese law.

Hunting and trading, including the storing, of any of the five native species is a criminal offence, according to local media reports.

Scores of Vietnamese have been arrested in regional waters over the past years for catching or trading sea turtles.

Nguyen Phuong Dung, the director of conservation group Education for Nature-Vietnam, welcomed the raid but said it must be followed with legal penalties for those involved.

Courts "need to send the message that Vietnam is serious about prosecuting and punishing" crimes involving endangered species, she said in a statement.

Environmental groups say Vietnam is one of the world's worst countries for trade in endangered species -- an accusation which it denies.

Police regularly seize hauls of ivory, rhino horn and exotic species including pangolins and tigers, but conservation groups say these represent just a small part of the trade passing through the communist country.

Preserving Yogyakarta’s Sea Turtle Nest Sites

Aside from beach erosion, poaching and garbage are said to be contributing to dwindling turtle populations

Jakarta Globe, Ari Susanto, Nov 16, 2014

Sea-turtle preservation has led to an ecotourism boom in the Yogyakarta area as
volunteers, keen to prevent extinction, flock to the area. (JG Photo/Ari Susanto)

Yogyakarta. Relentless erosion, tourist’s litter, and poaching continue to reduce the sea turtle population on Yogyakarta’s sandy beaches. Only the Oliver Ridley species still shows up in small numbers to lay eggs, while three others previously found nesting on the coastline — Green turtles, Leatherbacks and Hawksbills — have not appeared there in the past few years.

The Bantul Turtle Conservation Forum (FKPB), a community-based organization founded under supervision of the Natural Resource Conservation Agency to increase turtle populations, has noticed a significant decrease in the number of turtles emerging to lay eggs on Samas beach during nesting season between April and September each year. Wave erosion of beaches is the biggest cause as it limits the turtle’s nesting zones.

“Samas was once a favorite place for the turtles to lay eggs, but continuous waves eroding coastal land is reducing the sandy area every year. It is a serious problem to solve in turtle conservation,” FKPB coordinator Rujito told the Jakarta Globe.

Rampant tides have also ruined turtle conservation sites in Samas that were built to protect hatchlings from poachers and animal predators before they are released into the ocean. The forum has moved the site into a more protected sandy area covered by coastal-oak woodland and built new pools and hatching pots.

In addition to beach erosion, Rujito said poaching and garbage are contributing to dwindling turtle populations.

Some fishermen continue to hunt the turtles illegally and sell them on the black market for their carapaces and organs.

Garbage left by tourists also worsens the coastal environment for the reptiles as many turtles are found dead after swallowing plastic.

In Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta’s district with some of the most attractive beaches, the turtle population has also declined due to increased tourism. Gunungkidul’s Sea and Fishery Office conducts research on each beach with turtle nesting spots so that the government can limit access by large groups of tourists to those areas.

“We’re doing field research at around 35 beaches and also hearing from fishermen and local residents to collect data. Seven of the areas are confirmed as turtle nesting grounds,” the office’s head Agus Priyanto said.

Some beaches, such as Drini beach, are also identified as abandoned nesting spots, because turtles no longer visit due to tourist overcrowding. Agus recommends that the beaches with existing nesting grounds are open only for ecotourism aimed at turtle conservation, and that it should not be open to the general public.

In Bantul area, the Turtle Conservation Volunteers Network promotes ecotourism by asking people to participate in the release of baby turtles on some beaches, usually during July and August.

Through the Save Our Turtles program, the volunteers lead campaigns to attract people to join in protecting turtles from extinction.

“We want to help turtle conservation by preserving the population and also support ecotourism in Bantul,” volunteer coordinator Ferry Munandar said.

Canadian nabbed with 51 turtles in his pants

Yahoo – AFP, 26 Sep 2014

In a picture taken on June 20, 2012, red-eared slider turtles are seen at an enclosure

at the Manila Zoo. Red-eared sliders were one of the varieties of turtles found in the

pants of a man arrested for smuggling at the US-Canada border (AFP Photo/Noel Celis)

Ottawa (AFP) - A Canadian has been caught at the US-Canada border with 51 live turtles stuffed in his pants in what American authorities claimed was an elaborate reptile smuggling operation.

The scheme was uncovered last month but was only revealed this week in US federal court documents cited in a Friday report by the Toronto Globe and Mail.

According to the newspaper, Canadian border officials arrested Kai Xu as he tried to cross into Windsor, Ontario from Detroit, Michigan in August, and handed him over to US authorities.

"Xu was found to have 51 live turtles taped to his person," a US Fish and Wildlife Service said in an affidavit cited by the Globe and Mail.

The seized turtles were North American varieties including eastern box turtles, red-eared sliders and diamondback terrapins that sell for as much as $800.

A second Canadian, Lihua Lin, was arrested on Wednesday at the Detroit airport, bound for Shanghai with more than 200 North American pond turtles in his checked luggage. He had been dropped off at the airport by Xu.

Xu and Lin have been charged with smuggling and other related offenses, and face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

Related Article:

UN: 'Time to take the heat off turtles'

UN: 'Time to take the heat off turtles'

At a UN-organized meeting in Bonn, experts are discussing the plight of endangered sea turtles. Expert Colin Limpus told DW climate change is just the latest human-made factor making life tough for turtles.

Deutsche Welle, 17 Sep 2014

DW: Why are turtles on the agenda?

Marine turtles have a number of very critical issues related to climate change. The first is ‘temperature dependent sex determination’. The sex of the hatchlings is determined by the temperature of the nest half-way through incubation. And a warm beach creates mostly females, and a cool beach creates mostly males. One of the concerns with rising global temperatures is that we will shift potentially into an all-female producing population in a number of places. So this is a concern of the effect of rising temperatures.

The second big issue is that turtles nest on sandy beaches. That's the only place they can lay their eggs. And sea levels rise, then nesting areas could potentially see a rise in the water table, flooding of the nesting sites and loss of eggs as a result.

Limpus is a special UN advisor on turtles

Additionally, the increasing the intensity of hurricanes or cyclones: the more intense a cyclonic disturbance, the greater the destructive effect when the cyclone crosses coastal waters. So this leads to dramatic changes and the loss of critical habitat in coastal areas and the feeding areas for sea turtles. And major damage to a feeding area, may take years to recover. So any change in the frequency and intensity of these events is going to be detrimental.

Are we already seeing signs of these things already happening?

Yes, we can see the effects of major floods and cyclones. Part of the problem is judging which way this could go with our turtle population. A lot of studies try to predict on the basis that the population is static and will not shift. But if we look at what has happened over the last 10 to 12,000 years in Australia, for example, today, nesting beaches have multiple species nesting in places where 10,000 years ago it was dry land, and the nearest beaches would have been 900 kilometers away. We've gone through a major climate change from the ice ages through to the present, and sea turtles survived that. They did it by changing where they breed. So it's a challenge for how the turtles will respond. Will they stay where they are right now and suffer the consequences? Or can the population shift to areas that are suitable for them as change occurs? We have to consider how fast they can adapt with a rapid change in climate compared to what they went through in the past.

So we are probably talking about a faster climate change than what we have seen to date?

That's what some people are saying. If that's the case, it may challenge the capacity of turtles to do adapt. On the other hand, there are areas of their biology that we have not really investigated very well. A turtle comes back to the area where it's born. Recent research suggests that they don’t necessarily go back to the same beach where they were born, but go back to the region. So that suggests that as a turtle grows up, it choosing where it wants to breed. It may be able to make choices and may respond to changes, and choose a different site maybe within hundreds of kilometers of where it was born. So it could choose a beach with the right temperatures and stability.

But we don't know? And what can we do about it?

No but I guess I have some confidence that these animals, which have survived the past millions of years, have come through many climate change events. They’ve survived the catastrophic events that caused the demise of the dinosaurs. But in the past they didn't have to deal with human impacts. All of our sea turtles are listed as threatened species. It's going to depend on how we help them. Obviously the broader community has to address the issue of climate change. We need to start looking at how we manage temperatures of beaches, how we tackle the recovery of foraging areas, sea grass pastures, coral reefs. We need to keep them viable. We have to look at the sediment runoff that comes with floods, because that has a very big negative impact. How do you stop that soil eroding from your farmlands? These are all things we can do to soften the impact on turtles.

Why should we be worried about marine turtles in general, what role do they play in the ecosystem?

That depends on in which society you ask that question. A person living in Berlin might say “can't see much point in it.” If you were talking to an indigenous person in northern Australia, they would talk about the iconic value of the turtles in terms of totemic animals that are an integral part of their religious culture. And there are areas where it is the primary source of red meat for the community, so for them as a food resource and a cultural thing, very important. In the area where I grew up, the eco-tourism around turtles is the primary cash flow for the district economy for about five months of the year. Tourists come to look at nesting turtles. So the people in the business community would see it as an important economic component. As a biologist I see them as an integral part of the ecosystem. The loggerhead turtles have a function in the regulation of the density of shellfish in some areas, they feed on them. The green turtles are herbivores feeding on sea grass and their activity promotes the turnover of nutrients in a sea grass pasture. So turtles have lots of significance to different parts of the world.

Related Article:

"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll)

(Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)

“… The Weather

Let's talk about the weather. We retreat to exactly what we told you before in this very chair. The water cycle is a cooling cycle, not a heating cycle. You're going to have more severe winters and storms. It's going to get colder. But it gets warmer before it gets colder. That is the cycle, and it has always been the cycle. You can see it in the rings of the trees and the cores of the ice. Don't let your scientists pull the political wool over your eyes for their own purposes. Start seeing these things for what they are. It's a recurring cycle based on four Earth alignment attributes, including the wobble (the precession). You're in this cycle. Prepare.

The beginnings of it will be with you from now at least until the end of the 2012 36-year window, and you can watch it work. The first thing that happens is that the ice melts at the poles, but not completely. It's the way it has happened before. As the redistribution of weight from the poles to the oceans of the earth takes place, the weight is redistributed to the crust, and that creates earthquakes. And the earthquakes that will be the most powerful are the ones that are closest to the poles. We told you that some time ago. So it's not a mystery that suddenly you have some of the most powerful earthquakes that you've ever had. Not only that, but a cooling ocean creates larger storms.

What do the conspiracists do with all this? "See? We're doomed. Here it comes," they say. "Here it comes! The end is here!" Twenty-two years ago, we gave you the information that is happening today. We told you about the weather. We told you to get ready for it, but we still haven't told you why the water cycle is needed. We've hinted at it since it is very controversial, and we'll lose many readers right here and now. Here's the prediction: The scientists are going to laugh and biologists are going to scratch their heads and roll their eyes.

The Refreshing of the Cycle of Life

When you change the temperature of the waters of the planet, it changes the life cycle of the ocean and it eventually renews itself. The life cycle of the planet has a limit to its viability over time. There has to be a refreshing of the very cycle of life, and this is what the water cycle does. Are there any places you've seen too many fish lately? Yes. Millions of salmon in the north. Odd that it was in Alaska, isn't it? Alaska is very close to the poles where the water temperature is being felt first. Oh, again the experts will tell you that this is not the reason. It's about hatcheries and rivers. But nobody predicted this, did they? Science is fast to give you reasons, but slow to give you logic in advance. They always seem to be surprised.

We are saying things we haven't said before. Again, watch for this, an actual change in the life cycle of the planet's oceans because of the water temperature shift. Biologists are going to have to start redesigning the paradigm of how everything works, including reefs, ocean bottoms, and how plankton survive and reproduce. Listen, this is not the first time that the life cycle has been refreshed! But again, this may take generations of humanity to complete. In the process, you may again lose species. This is normal. Gaia is slow, and Humans are impatient. Your textbooks may someday tell of how naive humanity was back in 2011 when they tried to blame weather changes on everything but a natural cycle. Now you know why there is a water cycle.

So what does that tell you about Gaia? Gaia is beginning the cycle of refreshing life on over-fished oceans. It tells you that in the cracks, there is love and caring about the Humans who live on the earth. There's a reason you're here. There's a plan here, and a benevolent Universe and quantum energy with intelligent design. All is there for you, precious, sacred Human Being. …”