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| Conservation Efforts |
Baby Sea Turtle
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| Marine Turtles
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Apart from the land turtles, Costa Rica boasts five out of seven marine species
in the world. Among the most common are the green turtle, the leatherback
and the olive ridley turtle. These animals have an incredible and almost
inexplicable sense of direction, and they can travel up to 1500 miles to
return to the nesting area.
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| Nesting Beaches
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Females come ashore from two to six times each season, and lay up to 100
eggs each time! The mother returns to the sea, and the eggs hatch in about
6 weeks. Not very much is known about the lives of the small turtles after
they come out of their shells, since they aren't spotted again until they
are adults.
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Education
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Literature & eBooks
Children's Classic Literature with Homework Essays, Term Papers and Research Reports.
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Conservation and Protection in Costa Rica
Common nesting sites in Costa Rica National Parks are: Tortuguero ("tortuga"
in Spanish means turtle), Ostional, Gandoca Manzanillo, Curu, Nancite and
Playa Grande. These areas provide protection from the National Parks of Costa
Rica, and many research agencies and conservation organizations are present
on these beaches. §
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| Ostional National Wildlife Refuge
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Despite the protection that turtle nesting areas receive, these animals are
still threatened by their biggest predators- humans. Even in colonial times,
turtles were valued because of their meat and their shell. Carib and other
indians hunted them, and when the Spaniards arrived, they continued the custom.
Furthermore, around 1910, turtle soup became a delicacy in Europe, and this
raised the number of killings of turtles.
Fortunately despite the killing and the robbery of turtle eggs, nesting sites
are being more protected than in the past, and secure hatcheries have been
established. §
Marine Turtle Species
Five of the world's seven species of marine turtles
come to nest on the beaches of Costa Rica. The Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) nests on the Caribbean coast and the Black Turtle or "Tora" and Olive Ridley
or "Lora" (Lepidochelys olivacea) nest on the Pacific coast.
The Leatherback
or "Baula" (Dermochelys coriacea) and the Hawksbill or "Carey" (Eretmochelys
imbricata) nest on both coasts. There have been a few reports of Loggerhead
or "Cabezona" (Caretta caretta) nesting on the Caribbean coast but none on
the Pacific. §
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On both coasts of Costa Rica, one may find many beaches where turtles nest in solitary fashion
which means that between one and twenty turtles may nest on any given night.
There are at least forty beaches in this category. Due to their low numbers,
it is difficult to observe turtles nesting on these beaches.
In the second category are the beaches where intensive nesting takes place.
This means that between twenty and one hundred turtles may nest on a given
night. These beaches are ideal for observing turtles nesting. Among beaches
in this category are, Playa Tortuguero (Green Turtles and Leatherbacks) and
Playa Grande and Playa Naranjo (Leatherbacks).
In the third category are those beaches where MASSIVE nesting takes place.
This phenomenon, called "Arribada", is the synchronized nesting of thousands
of turtles for between three and nine days. The most important of these beaches
are Ostional and Nancite.
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