The Hawksbill Turtle

The hawksbill turtle (scientific name eretmochelys imbricate) is a subspecies of sea turtle that inhabits the coral reefs of the Mesoamerican Reef portion of the Caribbean Sea, the Coral Triangle portion of the western Pacific Ocean, and the Coastal East Africa portion of the western Indian Ocean. It can grow between 30 and 35 inches long, and it can weigh between 90 and 150 pounds. It is named for its narrow, pointed beak, which it uses to extract sponges, its main source of food, from crevices. Its other sources of food are jellyfish and sea anemones. Its shells have brown and yellow scales that overlap to form a distinctive serrated look on the edges.

The hawksbill turtle is classified as a Critically Endangered Species. It is this close to becoming extinct for three reasons. The first reason is that it is hunted for its shells, as they are highly valuable in the illegal wildlife trade once they are manufactured into tortoiseshell jewelry and ornaments. Because of this, one of the World Wildlife Fund's (WWF's) efforts to save it consists of working with communities around the Coral Triangle to reduce the trade and harvesting of it there and working to stop the trade of its products in the world at large. The second reason is that it gets entangled in gillnets and caught on fishing hooks. Because of this, another one of the WWF's efforts to save it consists of advocating for the use of devices that would prevent it from getting entangled in gillnets and working with fisheries to switch to fishing hooks that it would not get caught on. The third reason is that it has lost much of its nesting and feeding habitats. Because of this, yet another one of the WWF's efforts to save it consists of establishing areas where it will be able to nest and feed safely. All of this is being done for two reasons. The first reason is that it maintains the health of the coral reefs it inhabits. It does this by removing prey from the surfaces of these reefs, which provides the fish that also inhabit these reefs with better access to feed. The second reason is that it has tourism value and cultural significance, specifically in the Coral Triangle.

Source for picture and all information: https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/hawksbill-turtle