A dead mascot

last updated 8 January 2015

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

A Malaysian state was forced to drop its local symbol and sports mascot—the giant leatherback turtle—because it is on the verge of extinction. For centuries, thousands of the leatherbacks would land on the state of Terengganu’s beaches each year to lay their eggs. But in recent years, the turtles have virtually disappeared as a result of Malaysians’ taste for the eggs, which have been overharvested. The leatherback has thus become a source of embarrassment, rather than pride. The state’s chief minister said the new mascot would be the clown fish, which he described as “more agile and dynamic.”