Philippine Police Arrest Sea Turtle Poachers From China

Blog #12 (Sea Turtle Poachers)

1. Philippine Police Arrest Sea Turtle Poachers From China

2. Reptiles Magazine Online, May 2014

3. I chose this article because I didn't know sea turtles were even in the category of being poached! It's sad that people want them just for their shells when they are such beautiful creatures that live for forever. I'm happy they got arrested though. The remaining turtle carcasses were buried within a area where other endangered animals are buried.

4. I liked that the article had very specific numbers to how many animals were captured and included some crime pictures. Even though poaching is sad, it's an interesting topic. Chinese fisherman searching for something to poach are not uncommon. There are more than 7,000 little islands of the Philippines that these poachers enjoy to poach on to. 

5. I learned that when they found the ship 70 turtles were alive, but nearly 230 turtles were dead and hooked through their eyes to the ship. In total about 16 crew members and fisherman will be arrested for this crime. Sea turtles are an endangered species and the U.S. is very saddened by this trend. The sea turtles are wanted for their huge shells and unique patterns. 

6. I'm still wondering how these fisherman attract the sea turtles and know where to find them? How do they get them out of the water? Do Sea Turtles fight back? They have to be heavy!

7. n/a

8. n/a

9. n/a

10. The most interesting thing about sea turtles is how long they live!