Recommended Viewing:

Red Turtle Rising
Video Documentary, 1999, approx. 49 minutes
Winner, Hawaii International Film Festival 1999

The story of a turtle goddess, some turtles, and the mortals who try to save them.

This amazing documentary weaves together the legend of the ancient Hawaiian turtle goddess Kauila with the real life saga of one of the world's most endangered reptiles, the mysterious hawksbill turtle of Hawaii. See and hear stories in chant and hula that have not been told in centuries as biologists try to protect a being whose ancestors saw the rise and fall of the dinosaurs.

A film by Jay April & Lou Di Liberto

Produced by The Honu Project , the parent organization of World Turtle Trust.

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Recommended Reading:

Fire in the Turtle House
The Green Sea Turtle and the Fate of the Ocean
by Osha Gray Davidson
Published by Public Affairs LLC, 2001

Praise for Osha Gray Davidson and Fire in the Turtle House: "[A]n eloquent eco-cautionary take wrapped in a scientific mystery. . . From remote Pacific atolls to Key West, the author provides an underwater travelogue in search of an answer to the disease's origin. . . With a quick flowing narrative sparkling with wit, Davidson also provides anecdotal episodes about other similarly intriguing situations in the natural world. . . readers interested in ecology and animals, as well as those who value strong prose, will be intrigued and troubled by this book." -- Publishers Weekly

The "honu"-Hawaiian for sea turtle-has existed since the time of the dinosaurs. Considered sacred by many cultures, the sea turtle is also universally considered one of the most fascinating and beautiful animals in the sea. But this revered and mystical reptile is fading from the sea, ravaged by a mysterious and gruesome plague called fibropapillomatosis (FP.) Now affecting six of seven remaining species of sea turtles in every boat basin in the world, FP has the potential to render extinct creatures that have existed for more than a hundred million years. What is happening to the sea turtle, and how can it be stopped? And what does the disappearance of the sea turtle imply for the future of our oceans?

In Fire in the Turtle House: The Green Sea Turtle and the Fate of the Ocean, acclaimed journalist, Osha Gray Davidson tracks the fervent efforts of the extraordinary marine biologists and veterinarians engaged in a race against time. Their goal is to unravel a complicated biological and environmental puzzle that will save the turtles from extinction.

Davidson takes us with him as he descends to the quiet of the world's oceans with scientists and dedicated turtle advocates-one of whom has logged over 1200 dives with sea turtles in Hawaii. He traces with us the lives of particular turtles, revealing their surprisingly distinct personalities and why they inspire an almost spiritual devotion in the humans who come to know them. Traveling from Maui's Turtle House to Grand Cayman Island, from Florida's Indian River Lagoon to the windswept French Frigate Shoals, Davidson expertly traces the story of the sea turtle-and of our relationship to the sea-through history. Vivid tales of a Russian brig stranded on the Bering Sea in 1741; of the opening of New York City's Aquarium in 1896; of John Steinbeck-era Cannery Row; all shed light on the genesis of FP while illuminating the role humans play in marine mass mortalities and extinctions.

Fire in the Turtle House: The Green Sea Turtle and the Fate of the Ocean by Osha Gray Davidson (PublicAffairs; ISBN: 1-58648-000-6; Publication date: October 2, 2001; Suggested Retail Price: $26.00US; 220 pages)

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