Who is Mr. Leatherback?
In his own words: “An adventurous world traveler. The James Bond of the animal kingdom. The largest reptile on Earth.” Mr. Leatherback is a life-sized leatherback sea turtle representing (Dermochelys coriacea), a species that is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List. He is a huggable and photogenic ambassador for turtles and marine conservation who delights children and adults around the world. LEARN MORE: Discover CI’s Sea Turtle Flag Ship Program. Along with Olympic gold-medal swimmer Rowdy Gaines, he is also the official announcer of this year’s Great Turtle Race, set to kick off April 16th. What does he do? Mr. Leatherback’s goal is to “save my species by befriending humans,” and in his ambassadorial role has visited the pyramids of Giza in Egypt; the Space Needle in Seattle; the Coliseum in Rome; the United States Capitol; the Great Wall of China; India’s Taj Mahal; and New York City’s Statue of Liberty. He also raises money for turtle conservation and educates chil
