Costa Rican Sea Turtles!
On my expedition (Costa Rican Sea Turtles, January 2008) we patrolled the beaches at night to watch for nesting Leatherback turtles. One night as we were walking to meet up with the group on North beach, our team leader said she thought there was a turtle in front us. They typically come in around high tide. High tide was at 4:40am and it can be dangerous for a turtle since she can overheat as the sun comes up. We carefully walked beyond her and met up with the North group.
They were going to head back to the station and see if anyone wanted to come see the “morning turtle”. It is so rare that a turtle will come ashore that close to daylight plus once the sun is up, it is a rare opportunity to photograph the turtle (photography is prohibited at night). Out of 200 or so turtles, at that point in the nesting season, only 5 had been ‘morning turtles’.
Since Eric, my fellow group mate had counted eggs with the last turtle – it was my turn!! The group around the turtle quickly grew. A large group from the station came to watch and people were out for a morning walk on the beach. I got into position behind her as she dug the egg chamber. She very carefully dips her rear flippers in one at a time and carefully scoops sand out – probably about 1 cup or 2 at a time. The egg chamber will be about 75cm (about the length of your arm) deep. So it can take a while for her to dig the egg chamber. Once she started laying her eggs, I gently moved her flipper and using my head lamp (with red bulb) I counted the eggs she was laying. This turtle was average size. She was 149 cm in length ( close to ~1.5 yards). She laid 80 eggs.
After she was done she carefully covered her nest, camouflaged its location and headed back to the ocean. It was amazing to be able to work with the turtles at night and such an unforgettable experience to see and work with a turtle in daylight. I’m still struck, all these months later, by the fact that I had an experience like that with an animal that some day could be extinct and that our efforts can ‘make or break’ that outcome. ~ Allison R
They were going to head back to the station and see if anyone wanted to come see the “morning turtle”. It is so rare that a turtle will come ashore that close to daylight plus once the sun is up, it is a rare opportunity to photograph the turtle (photography is prohibited at night). Out of 200 or so turtles, at that point in the nesting season, only 5 had been ‘morning turtles’.
Since Eric, my fellow group mate had counted eggs with the last turtle – it was my turn!! The group around the turtle quickly grew. A large group from the station came to watch and people were out for a morning walk on the beach. I got into position behind her as she dug the egg chamber. She very carefully dips her rear flippers in one at a time and carefully scoops sand out – probably about 1 cup or 2 at a time. The egg chamber will be about 75cm (about the length of your arm) deep. So it can take a while for her to dig the egg chamber. Once she started laying her eggs, I gently moved her flipper and using my head lamp (with red bulb) I counted the eggs she was laying. This turtle was average size. She was 149 cm in length ( close to ~1.5 yards). She laid 80 eggs.
After she was done she carefully covered her nest, camouflaged its location and headed back to the ocean. It was amazing to be able to work with the turtles at night and such an unforgettable experience to see and work with a turtle in daylight. I’m still struck, all these months later, by the fact that I had an experience like that with an animal that some day could be extinct and that our efforts can ‘make or break’ that outcome. ~ Allison R
