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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - Scientists and conservationists called on Pacific countries Friday to step up efforts to protect leatherback turtles that are on the brink of extinction.
About 95 percent of the giant turtles have vanished in the past 20 years because of human activities such as egg poaching, encroachment of nesting beaches, and hunting, said a statement released after a turtle conservation conference.
Researchers estimate only 5,000 leatherback turtles — which can weigh up to a ton — are left in the Pacific, compared with more than 90,000 in 1980.
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