In an attempt to raise public awareness of the endangered leatherback sea turtle, scientists have attached satellite trackers to the shells of eleven females who today began a 1,200 mile migratory 'race' from Costa Rica to the Galapagos Islands.
To keep track of the turtles, go to greatturtlerace.com, where you can read daily updates on each of the pelagic competitors. Windy, who started the race with fresh scrapes on her shoulder, has set a "blistering-four mile-per-hour pace," with Stephanie Colburtle hot on her shell, but my money's on the scrappy Genevieve, a hydrodynamic racing machine with a shark-bitten hole in her left front flipper.
Turtle Race Being Tracked on the Web [Associated Press]
