Rare leatherback turtle spotted in Indonesia
FILE - In this June 27, 2000, file photo, a leatherback turtle is seen in Manzanilla, Trinidad and Tobago. Conservationists said Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011, they got a rare glimpse of a 6-foot (2-meter) -long leatherback, the world's most endangered sea turtle, together with dozens of eggs in western Indonesia. (AP Photo/Shirley Bahadur, File)
(AP) -- Conservationists say they got a rare glimpse of a 6-foot (2-meter) -long leatherback - the world's most endangered sea turtle - together with dozens of eggs in western Indonesia.
Khairul Amra, a member of a local conservation group, said Thursday that the giant turtle was spotted on a beach on Sumatra island over the weekend just before it plunged into the water.
Soon after 65 eggs thought to belong to the leatherback were found in a nest - the third such discovery on the same beach this year.
Leatherbacks, which can grow up to 9 feet (3 meters) long, have roamed the oceans for 100 million years, but the globe-trotting sea turtles today number only around 30,000.
Their biggest threats are commercial fishing and egg hunters.
©2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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