Lester the Leatherback Sea Turtle Loath to Leave Water

Word around the zoo has it that Lester the leatherback sea turtle never leaves the water. Roving rodent reporter Zoey the zoo mouse and photographer Zeek have dropped by the Dermochelys coriacea exhibit to get to the bottom of the matter.

Zoey: Thanks for allowing us into your lovely tank, Lester.

Lester: My pleasure.

Zoey: We hear that you never leave the water. Is that true?

Lester: Can you blame me? Look how beautiful it is down here. With my kelp beds and warm ocean water, why would I want to leave?

Zoey: It is rather nice down here … but don’t you want to go up on dry land occasionally?

Lester: No! And you can’t make me!

Zoey: Okay, okay. I wasn’t going to try. I was just curious, that’s all. Is that typical of a leatherback? To never go up on dry land?

Lester: Once they leave land after they hatch, males tend to spend the rest of their lives in the ocean. Females leave once a year to lay eggs on beaches. Thank goodness I’m not a female! It’s so scary out there …

Zoey: That sounds odd coming from such a large creature. What are you, about eight feet long? And you must weigh a ton. I’d think you wouldn’t have much to be afraid of at all.

Lester: Well we are the largest living turtles. And I weigh two tons, actually. But as you can see, my shell isn’t much of a shell at all. Other species of sea turtles have a nice hard shell. Mine’s kind of leathery—hence the name leatherback turtle—and not very protective. Which is fine down here, but on land, I mean, what if a tree fell on me? Or if lightning struck me? Or a meteor?

Zoey: Isn’t that just a little bit paranoid?

Lester: All I know is that I felt very vulnerable on dry land. Ever since I first set flipper in the sea, I felt safe and secure. The idea of going back to land … oh, it gives me chills just thinking about it!

Zeek: Could be meteorophobia … or brontophobia. Oh, wait, I know! He has xerophobia!

Zoey: Zeek, what are you talking about?

Zeek: Meteorophobia is the fear of meteors, brontophobia is the fear of thunderstorms, and xerophobia is the fear of dryness.

Zoey: Why do you know that? Well, no matter what he has, we need to get a picture. Let’s get a shot of Lester in his element.

Zeek: Okay! [snaps picture]

Zoey: Just a couple more minutes of your time, Lester. Living in the water full time, obviously your diet must consist only of things you find in the sea …

Lester: Yep. Here I primarily eat jellyfish. In the wild I would also eat seaweed, sea urchins, squid, and mollusks, too.

Zoey: Have you lived in the wild?

Lester: Only briefly. The most terrifying moments of my life were when I was snatched out of the sea and transported here. I was so relieved when I got back in the water!

Zoey: So are you happy with your accommodations at the zoo?

Lester: As long as I’m in the water, I’m happy as a clam.