in Guyana, turtles that are becoming increasingly rare

It is a spectacle that tourists love in Guyana: the nesting of leatherback turtles on the beach. But every year, fewer and fewer come back. The largest species of sea turtle has been in danger of extinction all over the world since 2019. It is one of the vertebrates that could quickly disappear. “We observed nesting turtles west of French Guiana of more than 1,000 individuals each year, 20, 25 years ago. Today, we observe 10, so we are on a complete collapse“, alert Arnaud Gauffier, program director of WWF France.

Victims of poaching, fishing nets or pollution, turtles also suffer the consequences of global warming. They have to travel much further to find food-rich areas. Their disappearance is like almost three quarters of the vertebrates in the world. In any case, humans are responsible for this impact on the ecosystem.