Extinct Animal : Green Turtle

Female green turtles return to the same beaches regularly and in great numbers to lay their eggs. Throughout history these turtles have been an important source of food to local human populations and sea voyagers. The green turtle was once common in the warm oceans of the world, but has become increasingly scarce in areas where it is commercially exploited. It is still common, however, in Hawaii, but now rarely nests in North America, although feeding areas in Florida still have fairly large populations. The green turtle can also be found around Australia.

There is a major remaining nesting site in the Galapagos Islands and also on Ascension Island in the south Atlantic, to which the females have to travel over 2,000 km from their feeding grounds. Brazil, Costa Rica, Malaya, the Philippines, and Indonesia maintain protected hatcheries and regulate the harvest of the species.

Although 58 countries have helped to protect the green turtle by joining an international convention controlling the import, export, and use of endangered species, the demand for turtle soup, "turtle oil" for cosmetics, and turtle skin for shoe leather has encouraged a continuing, and often illegal, trade.