Six of the seven marine turtle species sit somewhere along the scale of threatened species.
With red flashlights we watched their steady climb up the beach, their laborious scooping and digging in the sand, and we watched as they lay eggs carrying the next generation. We even spotted hatchlings crawl out of their nests and scuttle down the sand into the safety of the water. That night in Trinidad and Tobago, my college biology class and I observed hundreds of Leatherback sea turtles. According to NOAA, Leatherbacks are listed as endangered, “in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.” Six of the seven marine turtle species sit somewhere along the scale of threatened species. Hawksbill turtles, like the one in the image above, are critically endangered, just below extinct in the wild.