And They're Off ...

I love sea turtles. I especially love Leatherback turtles. Unfortunately, the massive Leatherbacks are under threat. Which brings me to the Great Turtle Race.

The Great Turtle Race is a great exercise put together by Conservation International, the Leatherback Trust, TOPP (Tagging of Pacific Predators), and the Costa Rican Ministry of Energy and the Environment. The premise is pretty simple: eleven turtles are in a race from Costa Rica to the Galapagos Islands. The first turtle to arrive wins.

What makes the race interesting is that each turtle has a corporate sponsor. The current leader -- Billie -- is sponsored by the Offield Center for Billfish Studies, while the second place contender -- Windie -- wears the colours of West Marine. My two particular favourites, however, are third placed Stephanie Colburtle -- who was named after talk show pundit Stephen Colbert -- and last placed Sundae, who is sponsored by Dreyer's Slow Churned Ice Cream.

Although a couple of turtles seem to like Costa Rican waters, the other nine have made more headway in the race. Billie, for example, has traveled over 270 miles in four days. Not bad at all!

Check out the Great Turtle Race site to keep tabs on your favourite turtle: http://www.greatturtlerace.com/.