A carabao pulls a 200-kilogram, 138-centimeter pawikan (leatherback turtle) that was found dead by fisherman Tirso B. Renegado along the shores of Barangay Caraosan in Bula, Camarines Sur on July 28. In a report from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Region 5 (DENR-Bicol), local environment officials suspect that there was an attempt to catch the turtle, but the perpetrators might have backed off due to the sea creature’s weight. The pawikan, classified as a “vulnerable” specie, was found entangled in rope and the cause of death could have been drowning as it failed to resurface for oxygen. The pawikan was buried 200 meters off the shoreline of the barangay.
