U W F 12 MARINE ANIMALS BACK FROM THE BRINK by Nancy Furstinger STORY LIBRARY
GREEN SEA TURTLES NEARLY VANISH OFF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS Green sea turtles have been on For decades Hawaiians liked to hunt the sea turtles People ate steaks Earth for 245 million years That means they have been around since before the dinosaurs became made of their meat They stirred their fat into soups and turned their skin into gloves extinct They are one of the largest sea turtle species in the world As hunters were catching more and more sea turtles scientists became These sturdy animals can live more than 80 years in the wild But over hunting almost killed them all concerned Green sea turtles reproduce slowly They only visit the nesting grounds once every three to Green sea turtles come ashore to lay
IUCN RED LIST The International Union for the Conservation of Nature IUCN keeps a list of all threatened species in the world called the Red List Each species is labeled according to how at risk it is Least Concern Not considered at risk Near Threatened At risk of being vulnerable or endangered in the future Vulnerable At risk of extinction Endangered At high risk of extinction Critically Endangered At extremely high risk of extinction Extinct in the Wild Only lives in captivity Extinct No members of a species are left The US Fish and Wildlife Service 500 Maximum weight in pounds 227 kg of a green sea turtle sprang into action It listed the species as threatened It became illegal to kill green sea turtles The turtles started to make a slow Status least concern comeback The population has been Population 800 nesting females in Hawaii Home Hawaii Life Span 60 70 years increasing for 25 years In recent years more than 800 females have nested on the Hawaiian Islands four years One concerned scientist decided to start tracking them In 1973 he counted just 67 nesting females Not enough turtles were hatching to make up for those being hunted If hunting continued the green sea turtles would be gone from Hawaii Sea turtles stay warm by swimming close to the surface of the
