The Lives of Sea Turtles and Why They Matter (2024)

I love sea turtles but don't know much about them. Christine Figgener's new book My Life with Sea Turtles: A Marine Biologist’s Quest to Protect One of the Most Ancient Animals on Earth answers many questions. I couldn't be happier after I read it and agree with part of the book's description: "Filled with reverence and wonder for the natural world, this captivating book reveals the secret life of sea turtles, one of the oldest living creatures on Earth, alongside one female scientist’s fight to save their future." Her video of the painful removal of a plastic straw from a sea turtle's nose went viral and catalyzed the global debate about single-use plastics that led to them being banned in many countries. Here's what she had to say about her passionate and important book.

Marc Bekoff: Why did you write My Life with Sea Turtles?

Christine Figgener: I wrote My Life with Sea Turtles, first and foremost, to express my love and enthusiasm for sea turtles and their oceanic habitat, including the biology and ecology that have ensured their survival for millions of years. But this book was also born out of my concerns for the future of our sea turtles and oceans, which I want to share with more people.

We are currently experiencing a sixth mass extinction of species due solely to our human existence and lifestyle. Because of us, many species face unprecedented threats and only have a chance of survival if we drastically change how we live and actively do something to prevent their extinction. Despite the sad topics I address, it is still a plea for hope, optimism, and community.

By sharing my personal life journey with sea turtles, which took me from a small inland town in Germany to studying marine biology and working with sea turtles in Central America, I want to encourage and empower particularly young people to dedicate their lives to nature conservation. If there is a next generation of conservationists and sea turtle enthusiasts we will continue to have sea turtles and other animals on our planet.

I hope to motivate many people to do more and, if they haven't, entirely fall in love with these prehistoric creatures.

MB: How does your book relate to your background and general areas of interest?

CF: I have been an avid reader ever since I started reading. As a child, books let me travel into the densest jungles and deepest marine trenches without leaving the confinement of my room. I have always been a storyteller by heart, loving to write essays and short stories in school, but as I became a scientist, my storytelling had to change somewhat to comply with the rigor of the scientific method. However, I have always dreamed about writing a book about things I deeply care about and hopefully inspire others to care. With this book, I combined my love of storytelling, including photography, with my passion for science and sea turtles.

MB: Who do you hope to reach?

CF: People who wouldn't generally read a popular science book. I don't want to preach to the choir. We have an incredible global conservation community. While I appreciate my friends and colleagues reading my book, I would like people outside our usual bubble to pick it up. It is not my friends and colleagues I need to educate about the plight of sea turtles and our oceans, but people who have never before thought about it. Sea turtles are charismatic animals; some might even say magical. I hope their unique charm will help me convince people that they and their oceanic habitat are worthy of our protection and that we need all hands on deck for it.

MB: What are some of the major topics you consider?

CF: Besides highlighting extraordinary sea turtle biology and ecology, I primarily want to showcase the complexity of threats they and their oceanic habitat face. We won't save sea turtles just by banishing plastic straws or eating fish. There is so much going on, from direct exploitation to climate change, pollution, and invasive species, and all of this needs to be addressed and hopefully solved if sea turtles are meant to have a future on this planet.

Other topics near and dear to me are general issues in the conservation sector (and academia), ranging from low pay and little available funding to low diversity and neocolonial structures that many people might not be aware of. I am also talking about the importance of data-driven conservation measures to maximize their impact and outcome while being limited by funding and what it is like to have two hearts beating in my chest, that of a cool-headed scientist and a hot-blooded activist. I write from my perspective as a female scientist and conservationist, which might provide some insights into the unique challenges women face and how we navigate this world.

MB: How does your book differ from others that are concerned with some of the same general topics?

CF: When I set out to write this book, I didn't want to write another popular science book about sea turtles with fact after fact after fact. I want to reach audiences beyond those who usually pick up these books. I want people of all ages, who like the ocean and perhaps even sea turtles, those who like a good read about an interesting topic, to be drawn into the world of sea turtles, my work with them, and learning a good amount on the side. Having written this book as part memoir, part adventure-travel book, and part popular science book, it hopefully provides the right mix to keep people engaged.

MB: Are you hopeful that as people learn more about turtles, they will treat them with more compassion and respect?

CF: You only protect what you love, and you only love what you know. After reading my book, people will know more about sea turtles and their state in our world. Time will tell if this will also lead to a love for them and more compassion and respect.

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