Eating Habits

The main food source

The main source of foods of the Leatherback sea turtles is jellyfish they can eat jellyfish as much as their body weights. Leatherback turtles have many rows of spikes found in their throat this help them to hold slippery food down. In some cases the Leatherback sea turtle makes a mistake of eating plastic twines and even fishing nets that may cause harmful result and even fatal. Leatherback eats jelly fish so they belong to carnivore.

Eating poison jellyfish

Some jellyfish are poisonous but Leatherback doesn’t find them poisonous but an appetizer. In recent due to its obligate feeding nature it has been documented that Leatherback turtle’s plays vital role in the populations of jellyfish. Some soft-bodies marine organisms such tunicates and cephalopods are also known foods of Leatherback. Tunicates are members of subphylum tunicate are the group of underwater saclike filter feeders. As Leatherback turtles dive on the depths these soft-bodies organism can be found and are commonly called as sea pork and sea squirts. Cephalopods or commonly know as mollusk are characterized by body symmetry.

Part of the Jellyfish ecosystem

There are about 800 extant species of cephalopods. Since the population of jelly fish are seasonal and can only be found mostly on the coastal sea while Leatherback turtles dives depth the abundance of cephalopods are on existence. The ecosystem is at balance for the Leatherback sea turtle.

Created to eat Jellyfish

Octopus, cuttle fish, bobtail etc. are only few kinds of cephalopods that are edible for the sea turtle. Since it has delicate scissor-like jaws Leatherback can only eat soft-bodied animals. The mouth cavity and throat are line with papillae and are pointed backward to help them swallow soft and slippery foods. The jaw structure of many species especially the sea turtles can be determine if the are carnivorous, herbivorous, or omnivorous and are adapted on their diet. Anything other than the soft-bodied animals can damage the jaw structure of Leatherback sea turtle. But some insights seen a Leatherback eats a pelagic crab. This crab is also called tuna crab they survive on planktons collected on micro-hairs found on their legs.

The food are disappearing

The population of jelly fish can be overly populated if the continuing habitat distraction, harvesting of eggs and exportation of the body parts of the Leatherback and other sea turtles can be dangerous to the ecosystem. The Eco system should always be balance. We as humans should be aware that even we are the intillegent species on earth but still we should not abuse the nature mostly the animals their habitat is essential to the entirety of the planet. From the tiniest creature to the Godzilla’s everyone shares their part some will end up other’s lives to survive and completes the cycle but as human we are destined to protect the environment. Growing numbers of harvest sea turtle eggs for the sake of stable financial capabilities for certain exporter of sea turtle eggs can turn turmoil to the balance of nature. The value of each animal should not be taken for granted every specie that exists have purpose for the survival of other specie and vice versa.