Angels of Eden

This first chapter is about Carl Safina's experiences looking for Leatherback sea turtles in Trinidad.  Please scan the chapter and find the answers to the following questions.  DO NOT copy sentences from the book.  I want you to use your own words.  You need to type your answers and email them to me before class on Monday.

1. What is the setting of this chapter? 

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2. There are four people patrolling the beach, looking for Leatherback turtles.  What does patrolling mean?
3. What kinds of things prevent the sea turtles from coming ashore?
4. "Turtle season" is the time of year when female turtles come ashore to lay eggs.  Is a normal "turtle season" wet or dry?  Is the season described in the book normal?

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5. What is the turtle doing?
6. What obstacles does the turtle encounter when she comes to shore?

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7. What are the turtle's main body parts?

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8. What is the size and shape of the hole?

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9. How does Dr. Safina (the author) justify the presence of all these people?

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10. What happened to the turtles between 1980 and 2000?

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11. What is the texture of the turtle's skin?

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12. What is interesting about the turtle's eggs?
13. How do Leatherbacks ensure that at least some of their eggs will be safe?
14. What might explain the pink line that goes around the turtles shoulder to her armpit?
15. One of the Nature Seekers, Scott, says that the turtles really "run the gauntlet."  What do you think that means?
16. What does Scott do to the turtle before she leaves the nest she dug?

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17. The turtle swam ashore, crawled inland, dug a nest, laid eggs, buried them, and returned to the ocean.  How long did the process take?

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18. What happened to the second turtle they found?

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19. What was wrong with the beach where they found the third turtle?
20. What happened to her eggs?
    

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21. What does the fourth turtle do?

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22. Describe Matura, Trinidad.

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23. What makes sea turtles different from other turtles?
24. What makes Leatherbacks different from other sea turtles?

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25. Dr. Safina and the Nature Seekers went home to sleep and then came back to the beach during the day.  What was one of the first things they saw?
26. What is happening to the earth's climate?
27. What does the beach look like?  What is on the beach?
28. Hatchlings are supposed to leave the nest at night.  Why did these hatchlings leave during the day?  What happened to them because of this?
29. How does Dr. Safina justify interfering with nature?

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30. Where do the hatchlings go?

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31. How do hatchlings know where to go?

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32. Why do sea turtles cry?

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33. What may have caused this newest turtle's long scar?

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34. What does Scott put on the turtle? Why?

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35. What is the pink spot on top of a Leatherback's head?
36. How does fishing affect sea turtles?
37. Why are Dr. Safina and the Nature Seekers surprised?

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38. What is Dr. Safina thinking about at the end of the chapter?

Discussion Question

Please post your answers to discussion questions as comments.
Every time a new species becomes extinct, we lose a potential source of human medicine. Since we do not know which species are likely to provide valuable medicines, it is difficult to know where to focus conservation efforts. If you were in charge of determining high priorities for species conservation in a country, with goal of identifying plants and animals with medicinal value, what factors would you consider in making your decisions?