The world’s largest sea turtle, the Leatherback, camouflages its nest on a beach in northern Suriname. After laying their eggs, mother leatherbacks spend considerable time and energy camouflaging the nest by throwing up sand with their massive flippers in a wide area around the nest. Photo by: Tiffany Roufs, 2008.
The leatherback sea turtle is classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List. It is threatened by the harvesting of its eggs, drowning as bycatch, loss of beaches for nesting, light pollution, and the ingestion of plastic and other pollutants. Plastic chemicals have even been found in Leatherback sea turtle egg yolks.
To see more photos of nesting leatherback sea turtles: Suriname Photos.
To read about volunteering with leatherbacks: Volunteering with Leatherback Sea Turtles in Galibi, Suriname.