Adieu Leatherback Turtle

Picture from Yahoo! News






Yesterday's news. Or was it the day before?
I recall H mentioning in random to the room about the leatherback being extinct in Malaysia. He's the only person in the crowd who reads the papers on a daily basis. It gauged no response even from the people who deep down in their hearts cared for the environment, yet never made a big difference to save it... (just using recycled paper instead of shredding it, throwing rubbish into the designated bins whenever possible, but never demostrating -peacefully or otherwise, nor climbing a tree and living on it just to prove a point)
I was one of them... Firstly, I was silent because I've been having sleep deprivation for the last few days, was also deprived of my weekend which I treasure so much and thirdly, because I could not believe it.
I've heard that the turtle numbers have been dwindling since forever (which in my terms most probably means since the 80's), and hated those torchlight wielding excitement seekers watching the poor turtles lay eggs on the beach. How would you feel if someone shined a torch at your face when you were giving birth? Huh? [Please don't say that they are animals and don't feel anything]
It's sad, really... I've never seen a real turtle... and most probably never will (given my hydrophobia which means I'll never get to dive and check out the turtles in the ocean)
I have a farfetched hope though... they said that the scientists have not fully researched the turtles, and that there a few mysteries still remaining... All I hope is that their internal compass has led them to nest in other places, safer and more conducive, and with much more privacy. I'm saying this because I believe the moving of the tectonic plates has most probably shited dramatically after the earthquake which caused the tsunami in 2004.
Sigh.