NPS photo

Although no leatherbacks have been recorded as nesting on Padre Island in recent years, they did nest here as recently as the 1930s and 1940s.

Leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) are not known to nest currently on Padre Island. Leatherback nests were recorded on Padre Island in the 1930’s-40’s, before the founding of the National Seashore. No leatherback nests have been located here or elsewhere in Texas since then.

Found worldwide, their primary nesting beaches in the Atlantic are on the northern coast of South America and at various locations around the Caribbean. A few nest in Florida and on the Gulf of Mexico coastline in Mexico.

Their name is an accurate description of their appearance, because they do not have shells as other sea turtles do. Instead, their backs are covered by a slate black to bluish-black leathery skin (spotted by irregular white or pink patches) with seven keels prominent. They are the largest turtles in the world, reaching over 6 feet (2 meters) in length and 650-1,200 lbs. (295-544 kg) in weight. The largest specimen recorded weighed 2,016 lbs (916 kg). Their diet consists almost entirely of jellyfish; many die from feeding on discarded plastic bags mistaken for jellyfish. They live primarily in tropical and subtropical seas, although they have been found as far north as Iceland and Norway, and, in the Pacific, as far south as New Zealand and Chile. They normally remain in deep water and have been documented to dive to 3,300 ft (1,031 meters) , although it has been estimated that they can dive to over 4,000 ft. (1,250m). Their fat enables them to maintain body core temperatures above the level of the surrounding sea water. When injured, they produce sounds similar to groans or roars.