And they’re off! If you forgot to place your wager on this year’s Great Turtle Race from National Geographic, you can still follow along as 11 leatherback sea turtles make their way from Canada to the warm waters of the Caribbean.
The Great Turtle Race raises public awareness of leatherback turtle migration, plus threats to the creature’s survival, through the magic of sports. The site has lots of nifty race stats, such as how many hour-long dives each turtle makes. You can cheer on your favorite turtle, and elect to receive daily updates on how it’s doing in the field.
The site is more than just race-themed environmentalism, however. It also has great turtle information, like the fact that leatherback turtles dive as deep as whales do, feasting on jellyfish and other jelly creatures they encounter. You and your students can play a turtle race game, piloting your own turtle as you try to eat jellyfish and avoid seaweed and garbage. Or test your turtle knowledge with an online quiz. Everything you wanted to know about sea turtles, plus the stuff you didn’t know you wanted to know, you can find it here.
In keeping with the racing theme, the turtles all have ridiculous names right out of the Kentucky Derby like Nightswimmer and Lindblad the Explorer. Which reminds me, if you had any action on Backspacer, get ready to cash in. -BILL FERRIS
The Great Turtle Race
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