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At the Cabarete beach at the Northern coast of the Dominican Republic a rare guest has been noticed: the largest tortoise in the world - Dermochelys coriacea. The appearance in the waters of the Republic of this reptile - is a very rare phenomenon. Last time it was seen here 10 years ago.
While visiting the popular beach, the giant tortoise has laid a great amount of eggs and after 60-70 days young tortoises will start their distant travel from here. The egg laying place has become the national treasure, it has been surrounded with a fence and the future tortoises are guarded by the police officers.
Leatherbacks are the only biological family of the tortoises without shells. These animals have evolutioned in their separate way, that is why they are so different from the other tortoises. Their shell is not linked with the skeleton and consists of small plates connected with each other. There are no bone shields and the shell is covered with skin. This is also the size and weight champion among all tortoises in the world - separate specimen are 2-3 meters long and the weight of the adult exemplars can reach 600-900 kilograms. Currently there are only a few of these reptiles on the planet. |
