The Great Turtle Race 2

[Saint_Michael 3]

If you all remember last year about a interactive turtle race in which live turtles were trace to the their breeding grounds? In case you didn't check out the topic here, and if you have well the race is on and because I didn't check my email in time and the second race is already on into day two.

Well to give a small update on whats going on here are the turtle in this years race:

Masterdonia
Mama Tabitha
Beibei
JingJing
JK Turtling
Stinger
Billie II
Drexelina II
Amban
Saphira II
Shelby

What is interesting to note that the turtles are starting from three locations, the US, New Guinea and Indonesia and they will be racing somewhere towards the Pacific Ocean and after the first day Billie II is in the lead, and so I be keeping everyone updated for the next 14 days on these turtles as they race to build a future for the leatherback turtles.

Also if you want to check out the site, maybe sponsor a turtle or two then go here http://www.greatturtlerace.com/.

I have to go with Saphira II although Saphira I did not win, GO BABY GO!!

[cangor 0]

Haha that's a really cool idea. I wonder which turtle will be first?

[Saint_Michael 3]

Well here are the updates for the big race and I have to say that I am happy my girl is winning:

 

DAY 2

 

It has finally happened, Drexelina II is off the beach and heading North by Northeast. She leads Beibei, Amban, Jingjing, and Mama Tabitha. Stinger pushed off her right flipper and took a lead but she is battling back. Out in front of the Indonesia group is Billie II. She is following in her sister's flipper tracks and is way out in front. Billie won the race last year edging out several strong contenders including Stephanie Colbertle!

 

Way out in front among the California 4 is Saphira II. She is headed for Hawaii and going strong. J.K. Turtling pulling even, but Mastodona is veering off to the south. Meanwhile back near the coast Shelby is munching on jellyfish along the Oregon coast. Must be some tasty ones there. Jellyfish are the main food of leatherbacks. You can learn more about that and how scientists track the leatherbacks by going to The Leatherback World. There is a lot of fascinating information there- and nice pictures too!

 

Keep checking http://www.greatturtlerace.com/ throughout the day. The site is updated several times a day so you will get the latest on your turtle's progress.

 

Check out the information about the people who are saving leatherbacks in Indonesia by going to Sea Turtle Champions. They need your help if they are going to keep doing their good work on the beach. Go ahead, touch that donate button! You will feel better after you help out the turtles!

 

--The Great Turtle Race Team

 

DAY 3

It's an exciting race with turtles jumping off the starting blocks from both Indonesia and California! Billie II from Jamursba-Medi got off to a quick start and leads the Indonesian turtles, while Jingling, Beibei and Stinger are bunched up and moving north. Drexelina II is doing better than her sister did last year. Drexelina never got off the beach in Costa Rica, but Drexelina II is swimming off the top of the Birds Head Peninsula. Wait she is headed back to the beach! Go back, go back! Mama Tabitha and Amban are still near the beach trying to convince to get going!

 

Off California the leatherbacks are really going to town! Mastodona, Saphira II and JK Turtling are really moving out. What is Shelby up to? She is heading off to Oregon. Maybe she knows where there is a hotspot of jellyfish up there. Let's see if she turns around today.

 

Keep checking http://www.greatturtlerace.com/ throughout the day. The site is updated several times a day so you will get the latest on your turtle's progress.

 

Tell your friends and sign on to blog. Remember, turtles need friends and donations! We need to get support for those people on the beaches so they can keep protecting all these wonderful ladies.

 

--The Great Turtle Race Team

DAY 4

It has finally happened, Drexelina II is off the beach and heading North by Northeast. She leads Beibei, Amban, Jingjing, and Mama Tabitha. Stinger pushed off her right flipper and took a lead but she is battling back. Out in front of the Indonesia group is Billie II. She is following in her sister's flipper tracks and is way out in front. Billie won the race last year edging out several strong contenders including Stephanie Colbertle!

 

Way out in front among the California 4 is Saphira II. She is headed for Hawaii and going strong. J.K. Turtling pulling even, but Mastodona is veering off to the south. Meanwhile back near the coast Shelby is munching on jellyfish along the Oregon coast. Must be some tasty ones there. Jellyfish are the main food of leatherbacks. You can learn more about that and how scientists track the leatherbacks by going to The Leatherback World. There is a lot of fascinating information there- and nice pictures too!

 

Keep checking http://www.greatturtlerace.com/ throughout the day. The site is updated several times a day so you will get the latest on your turtle's progress.

 

Check out the information about the people who are saving leatherbacks in Indonesia by going to Sea Turtle Champions. They need your help if they are going to keep doing their good work on the beach. Go ahead, touch that donate button! You will feel better after you help out the turtles!

 

--The Great Turtle Race Team

 

Day 5 Status

 

The races for the U.S. presidential nominations may be over, but out in the Pacific things are getting really exciting! Day 4 ended with Billie II heading north and Drexelina bunching up on Stinger's left flipper. Will Drexelina be able to get around her? Where is that race official!?! And what is Mama Tabitha up to? She is making a break around the left of the race, heading up to the top of the Phillippines. Beibei and Jingjing seem to be following her. Is today the day they head East?

 

In the east, Saphira II keeps her lead and is closing in on the tropical Hawaian Islands. J K Turtling and Mastodona seem to be lost in the south. Back at the coast Shelby finally started her run last night, so maybe today she will make some progress and get back in the race. She has a bulldog as a mascot so she is a real strong swimmer. There is still a lot of ocean out there, anything can happen.

 

Friday is fish day for many people. With the weekend coming up people are set to relax and have a nice meal. But be careful! If fish is on your menu, remember that tuna and swordfish are high in mercury. Go to the How Can I Help page and help sea turtles by signing up for the Great Turtle Race Seafood Pledge. Check out the NOAA fish watch guide and Monterrey Bay Aquarium seafood guide before you buy. Give up some of your favorite sea foods to highlight awareness of the problems of sustaining fisheries in the Pacific ocean.

 

Keep checking http://www.greatturtlerace.com/ throughout the day. The site is updated several times a day so you will get the latest on your turtle's progress.

To say the least the American Team is going all out in reaching their destination and my girl Saphira II has been holding her own, although I have a feeling thought she will lose steam by the weekend and hang out at the Hawaiian islands for awhile, but who knows.

[Saint_Michael 3]

We have a Winner and my girl Saphira II has won with Drexelina taking second and with Amabn most likely taking third place as that turtle has about 146 miles left on its journey. Sorry for the lack of updates since this site never sent them out daily like they did last time. Of course, if you been visiting the website daily, unlike I did, then you been keeping tabs on this turtle race.

Weekend Update

The Race was breaking into three different parts as last night ended. Mama Tabitha was way up at the top of the Philippines and Beibei and Jingjing were headed through the Celebes Sea towards the South China Sea. Are they giving up on the Race? Maybe they are getting an early start on the Olympics. Beibei and Jingjing represent children in China so maybe they are going home.
JK Turtling took the lead last night and is poised to make a run for the finish line. Saphira II was caught napping off the beach in Hawaii and now she has some work to do. Shelby is going all out and it looks like she will make some real progress today. She covered 400 miles yesterday. Can she break that record, or will she get caught up in the Hawaiian surf? Stinger left Drexelina II in her wake and was building a clear lead. Amban was coming up behind and it looks like she may have a breakout day. Mama Tabitha is now in the South China Sea. She rounded the Philippines and seems to be settling down to find a good seat for the Olympic Games.

Keep checking http://www.greatturtlerace.com/ throughout the day. The site is updated several times a day so you will get the latest on your turtle's progress.

It is amazing what scientists and people from the local communities can accomplish when they work together. Peter Dutton and Scott Benson are real heroes and work both in the United States and in Indonesia to save the leatherbacks. Check out there stories on the Turtle Champions page. While you are there read about the extraordinary people in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea who protect the turtles, their eggs and hatchlings on the nesting beaches.

Did you know that scientists actually catch these leatherbacks in the water off of California? Check out Leatherback World to see how they do it. That will also tell you about how we do the Race. Real science is exciting, and pretty hard work, but really interesting- most of the time.

--The Great Turtle Race Team

Day 8

Day Eight: Halfway there!
It has been a wild week as leatherbacks have been racing all over the Pacific Ocean. While viewers were resting the turtles were swimming hard. Sunday saw Billie II pop out from under the leader board. She sure can hold her breath for a long time! But look at that, Drexelina II has gotten really serious and is swimming hard. As day breaks she is only 1000 miles from the finish line and in third place. Saphira II beat off a strong challenge from J K Turtling yesterday and regained the lead. She is only 800 miles from the finish. JK is not giving up and is just ahead of Drexelina II.

Look at Stinger. She missed a turn and is heading north. Maybe she lost her sense of direction. Sea turtles can sense magnetism and use the sun for a compass. It looks like Stinger dozed off that day in turtle school. Speaking of lost, what happened to Mastodona? She is really in a rut, or an eddy. It looks like Jingjing, Beibei and Mama Tabitha have found their way home. Maybe they did not want to play in the Race. There must be a lot of jellyfish in the South China Sea. You can read about sea turtles in China in the Sea Turtle School page.

Keep checking http://www.greatturtlerace.com/ throughout the day. The site is updated several times a day so you will get the latest on your turtle's progress.

If you are enjoying the race, why not tell a friend? Share the fun. They can still pick out their turtle and enjoy the Race as it goes down the stretch. This will be another exciting week.

--Great Turtle Race Team

Day 10

Day 9 was busy with Saphira II reaching the International Date Line first and winning the race. What a strong finish! She kept her focus on the race and swam right through the finish line. Drexelina was closing fast with only 37 miles to go and JK Turtling was fading with 400 miles to go. Amban was closing in on her and has a chance to get into the top three. Meanwhile the other race also declared a winner. Beibei won the gold for the twirling contest by being the first to complete 30 twirls. It must be all that spinning around gobbling up jellyfish. So even if you don't win the distance race you can still be a winner.
Now where is Mastodona going? She is headed back to the US. Do you think she had her feelings hurt yesterday when we pointed out her eating habits? Shelby is slipping down towards the Equator. She has lost site of the finish line, but at least Stinger has finally turned towards the east and is back in the Race. At day's end yesterday she was in 5th place and Billie II was in 7th. The ladies in the South China Sea are fattening up and obviously are not taking this race seriously at all. They seem to be doing a lot of twirling. Yesterday we thought that was due to their feeding behavior, but it could be that they are going around a lot of obstacles. That could be it. The South China Sea is a hot spot for fishing and the turtles have to avoid gill nets, long lines and trawl nets. That makes it a tough life for leatherbacks over there. They need some help.

Keep checking http://www.greatturtlerace.com/ throughout the day. The site is updated several times a day so you will get the latest on your turtle's progress.

In 2008 the organizers of the race wanted to reach out to more children and across the Pacific to our friends in China. The main organizing forces for the Race are The Leatherback Trust and GLOBAL CAUSE, a new non-profit organization dedicated to finding practical solutions to the problem of global warming. This Olympic year we offer the race as a symbol of friendship and harmony to all those across the world who are concerned about sea turtles.

[Saint_Michael 3]

Sorry for the lack of updates, been rather busy and the fact the update format they choose was horrible and I hope people where visiting the site as well so they didn't have worry about these posts. Anyway, the race is over after a grueling 14 days in the dangerous ocean world for these turtles. Here are the spots these brave turtles came in:

 

1st (my pick) Saphira II

2nd Drexelina II

3rd Amban

4th Jk Turtling

5th Shelby

6th Billie II

7th Stinger

8th Mastodona (never finished)

9th JingJing (never finished)

10th Beibei (never finished)

11th Mama Tabitha (never finished)

 

Although this race is over, the race to save these turtles from extinction is still going on, and so if you got a spare dollar or two go to their How Can I Help page and donate to these awesome turtles.

[Archangel_Baw 0]

too cute:) thanks for posting the topic:)