World’s largest turtle threatened with extinction

On the beaches of Guyana, the leatherback turtle, with its blue-black skin, is increasingly rare. It is also on the endangered species list. “It is quite simply the largest marine reptile, it can weigh between 300 and 900 kg”, describes Laurent Kelle, the president of WWF Guyana, from Cayenne. The great migrator is easily counted when it comes to lay eggs in the estuary of the river of the French Amazon, the Maroni. “Twenty years ago, a thousand females came to this site to lay their eggs. In one generation, they are only ten to twenty, more than 95% have disappeared”, warns the specialist in marine biodiversity.