Voyage of the Turtle: In Pursuit of the Earth's Last Dinosaur

The story of an ancient sea turtle and what its survival says about our future from the award-winning writer and naturalistThough nature is indifferent to the struggles of her creatures the human effect on them is often premeditated. The distressing decline of sea turtles in Pacific waters and their surprising recovery in the Atlantic illuminate what can go both wrong and right from our interventions and teach us the lessons that can be applied to restore health to the worlds oceans and its creatures. As Voyage of the Turtle Carl Safinas compelling natural history adventure makes clear the fate of the astonishing leatherback turtle whose ancestry can be traced back 125 million years is in our hands.Writing with verve and color Safina describes how he and his colleagues track giant pelagic turtles across the worlds oceans and onto remote beaches of every continent. As scientists apply lessons learned in the Atlantic and Caribbean to other endangered seas Safina follows leatherback migrations including a thrilling journey from Monterey California to nesting grounds on the most remote beaches of Papua New Guinea. The only surviving species of its genus family and suborder the leatherback is an evolutionary marvel: a reptile that behaves like a warm-blooded dinosaur an ocean animal able to withstand colder water than most fishes and dive deeper than any whale.In his peerless prose Safina captures the delicate interaction between these gentle giants and the humans who are finally playing a significant role in their survival.Magnificent . . . A joyful hopeful book. Safina gives us ample reasons to be enthralled by this astonishing ancient animal―and ample reasons to care. -- The Los Angeles Times