Satellites and DNA reveal new insights into the western Pacific s rapidly declining hawksbill turtle population phys.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from phys.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A hawksbill turtle’s protective shell is in some ways its greatest weakness. Exquisitely patterned and thick enough to sculpt, hawksbill shells are the most popular type of tortoiseshell, a material coveted for centuries to make all manner of objects, from jewelry and trinkets, to spectacle frames and an entire genre of Japanese handicrafts called bekko. […]
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shop 10 years ago. A beautiful piece of polished tortoiseshell â amber, brown and semi-translucent
â Ms Robinson knew it was a unique item.
What she didnât know is that the jewellery was made from a critically endangered hawksbill turtle shell (Eretmochelys imbricata), one of an estimated 9 million turtles killed over the past 150 years. Inadvertently, when she bought it she broke the law.
Christine Madden Hof of the WWF Australia.
Credit:WWF Australia
âI never thought of it as something that was bad to buy,â Ms Robinson said. âIâve always been environmentally conscious with water and electricity conservation but I had no understanding of how products like this could impact on animals.â