Christine Figgener, born in 1983 in Germany, grew up in the Ruhr area and studied biology in Tübingen and Würzburg before earning her doctorate in marine biology from Texas A&M University. Since 2007 she has lived and worked in Costa Rica researching sea turtles and fighting to protect them.

 

Her video of a turtle having a plastic straw painfully removed from its nose went viral, fuelling the global debate over the use of single-use plastic, which has led to bans in many countries. She was named a "Next Generation Leader" by TIME Magazine in 2018, and since 2020 has been the Director of Science & Education for Footprint Foundation, which raises awareness of the dangers of plastic pollution. She also founded and directs the conservation organization COASTS and the consulting firm Nāmaka Conservation Science in Costa Rica, which both strive to protect sea turtles.

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She lives with her husband and her dog Fiona on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. When she is not rescuing sea turtles or writing, she swims as Sea Turtle Biologist through the vast expanses of the internet, trying to get more people interested in sea turtles and their conservation.