Help Bring Back the Turtles - Mikaela

I'm helping to Bring Back the Wild!

Hi, my name is Mikaela and I am an Earth Ranger!

Earth Rangers was created by adults for kids to help save plants, animals and our ecosystems by 2050.  Earth Rangers is doing a mission where we kids, yes KIDS, have to try to raise money for a certain animal.  I choose the SEA TURTLE because I think turtles are really cool and I hate to see their population getting smaller and smaller by the day. 

Before I tell you more about me and my goal, let me tell you a little bit about sea turtles.  There are seven species of sea turtles.  They are the Hawksbill Turtle, Kemp's Ridley Turtle, Green Sea Turtle, Leatherback Turtle, Loggerhead Turtle, the Olive Ridley Turtle and the Flatback Turtle.  They are all either threatened, endangered or severely endangered.

They are all threatened by  by-catch fisheries, habitat destruction or poaching for eggs and even meat!  Turtles can also get tangled up with plastic materials and other debris, leading to injury or even death.  

These challenges that sea turtles are facing has made the Hawksbill Sea Turtle drop its population down by 80% in the last 100 years. In the past 120 to 140 years the Green Sea Turtle numbers have declined by 48 to 67%.  That's A LOT!!  

Don't get me wrong, there are natural threats to turtles and hatchlings, but we are a MUCH bigger threat.  

Let's have a look at some of these natural threats.  Adult Sea Turtles have very few natural predators due to their size and hard shells.  However sharks, crocodiles, large fish and occasionally octopus can attack sea turtles.  Turtle Eggs and hatchlings are at much higher risk from natural predators than adult turtles.  On the beach and on the way to the sea, crabs, birds and mammals often prey on the eggs and the hatchlings.  Once in the water, hatchlings also fall victim to many species of fish.  Sea Turtle nests are at risk of becoming flooded with water, whether because of a storm, erosion or simply because the nest was laid too close to the shore by the mother.

Some more challenges that we have caused for these poor sea turtle are vessel or ship strike, light and noise pollution, plastic ingestion and chemical pollution.  As you can see, WE are DESTROYING the turtle population as we know it! 

This is why I have picked the Sea Turtle for my Fundraising Campaign.  My goal is to raise $500 for Sea Turtle over the next month and a half.  

I would love to help these animals so much and it would mean A LOT if I did.  If you decide to donate, it would be very nice of you.  If you do make a donation, it doesn't have to be $70 to make a different.  It could be $70 if you would like to donate that much, or it could be $20, $15, $10, $7, $5, $3 or even ONE DOLLAR.  Just know that when you donate, you make a difference for the Sea Turtles. 

Mikaela