If the logging and collecting continue, soon there will be no Manus Island tree snails left to study. That's the size of a large Leatherback sea turtle, the largest turtle on earth. Leatherbacks live in the warm waters of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Males spend all of their time at sea, and females come on land only when it is time to lay their eggs. Loss of nesting habitats is a serious problem for Leatherbacks.
Females build their nests on remote sandy areas along the coast.
Because many coasts are being made into beaches, leatherbacks often cannot find a safe place to lay their eggs. Other problems are fishing and hunting. Leatherbacks get caught in fishing nets, and in some parts of Asia they are hunted for food and oil. Only about 100,000 females are alive today. It is hard to know the number of males since they never come ashore.