June 2011
"That turtle is not alive."
Five words that forever changed my view of wildlife tourism. Five words that we did not expect to hear as we excitedly searched the beach for nesting sea turtles. After all, this was Costa Rica's famous Tortuguero National Park.
This was the first thing our guide had said to us after hurrying us down 400m of pitch black beach. None of us were carrying torches as white light can disorientate turtles. Instead our guide turned on his infrared torch so that we could see for ourselves the brutal image in front of us. Lying there, peacefully still on the sand, was a large, female green turtle. The largest turtle I had ever seen. She looked perfect except for a deep laceration above her right leg.
"It looks like they wanted her shell. Our patrol must have scared them off... I have never seen anything like this before."
Our guide was speechless with shock and grief. The rest of our group stood in silence, trying to understand how someone could do something so terrible to such a magnificent creature.
The idea that this green turtle was killed after returning to her home was heartbreaking.
Turtle hunting has always been prolific in the Caribbean, but turtle poaching has been on the rise across the world in recent years, mostly for their eggs but also for their shell or meat. A kilo of turtle shell can reach more than $1,000 in Asia, and whilst the eggs are a local delicacy in Costa Rica fetching $1 per egg in local bars, this can rise to $100+ per egg in international markets. It can mean big money for local poachers.
Green sea turtles like the one we found can grow up to 1.2m long and weigh more than 300lbs (136kg). They are internationally recognised as an endangered species. Aside from their size, the easiest way to distinguish a green turtle from other hard-shelled varieties is to see how many scales they have been their eyes. Green turtles have just one pair of large prefrontal scales between their eyes, whereas other hardshell turtles, like hawksbill or loggerhead, have many more smaller scales. Green turtles are the only herbivores out of all sea turtle species and usually nest near the beaches where they were born. The idea that this green turtle was killed after returning to her home was heartbreaking.
Tortuguero National Park was founded in 1975 and it covers more than 300 square kilometres of rainforest in northeastern Costa Rica, most of which is only accessible by canals and waterways. Besides turtles, the rainforest is packed with wildlife. From sightseeing boats or kayaks you can see lots of different bird species like herons, parrots and toucans, different types of monkeys, and sloths, crocodiles, caiman and iguanas. The park is also home to big cats like jaguar and puma, and other elusive species like manatees, tapir and even the endangered green macaw. However most visitors come in search of the infamous sea turtles. Loggerhead, leatherback, hawksbill and green sea turtles all nest on Tortuguero's coast, providing the park with its name (translated as Land of Turtles).
The morning after our devastating turtle walk, our guide came back to La Baula Lodge where we were staying.
"I don't want that to be your lasting memory of Tortuguero. We will go again tonight."
He insisted that we would not pay him and he hoped we would have better luck that evening. Somewhat fearful that we may encounter another poacher, we prepared ourselves at 10pm and made our way once more down to the dark Caribbean beach.
We did not have to wait long.
Soon after we arrived we found ourselves standing besides a large female leatherback turtle who had almost completed her nest. Our guide used his infrared torch to give us a better view as she kicked sand away with her rear flippers. She was absolutely huge and could have easily been the size of a double bed.
Leatherback turtles are the largest turtles in the world and trace back more than 100 million years. With their lack of a hard, bony shell, they look more reptilian than other sea turtles. Leatherbacks can dive deeper than any other turtle, and they also have the longest migration routes (around 4,000 miles each way). In fact the largest sea turtle ever recorded (around 100 years old and 9ft long) was a leatherback found washed up on a beach in North Wales. We wondered where the female we were watching had travelled from.
Tortuguero is famed for its turtle research, and our guide quickly radioed researchers who appeared within minutes to record the event. The turtle seemed completely unfazed by us as she went about her business. After several minutes of digging, she started to lay her eggs. Leatherbacks lay between 80-110 eggs and we able to watch them fill up the deep hole she had created.
The memory of seeing a giant leatherback turtle lay her eggs is something I will remember with a smile on my face for the rest of my life.
It's estimated that only 1 in 1,000 hatchlings will make it through to adulthood, and leatherback turtles are listed as Vulnerable (decreasing). If the eggs are not poached, then the baby turtles are commonly eaten as prey by sea birds or sharks, or trapped in fishing nets. Sea turtles are also likely to fall victims to lethal plastic ingestion, which is becoming more and more of a problem as they mistake ocean pollution for food. This is particularly true for plastic bags which tend to imitate the favourite food of sea turtles: jellyfish. Hoping that some of these eggs would survive, we watched this female kick sand back into the hole and cover her eggs.
Mesmerised, we had been watching her for about an hour when she started to make her way back to the sea. As she quickly vanished in the waves, we started to make our way back to the hotel. We talked excitedly about what we had just witnessed and how lucky we were to see this first hand. Whilst I will never forget either of those nights, the memory of seeing a giant leatherback turtle lay her eggs is something I will remember with a smile on my face for the rest of my life. I just hope that these creatures are around long enough for everyone else to have that joy too.
TURTLE CONSERVATION
The Sea Turtle Conservancy (STC) has worked hard over the last 50 years to reverse the decline of green turtle numbers in the Caribbean, who were on the brink of extinction in this area in the 1960's. As one of the most important sites in the world for green turtle nesting, STC conduct research patrols to monitor nesting sites along more than 20 miles of Tortuguero's black sand beaches. They also provide research, local education and training which will create long term protection for sea turtles, and help the local community to benefit economically from turtle tourism instead of poaching.
HOW TO SEE TURTLES IN TORTUGUERO
Almost every hotel in Tortuguero can arrange guided walks down the beaches. It's not possible to visit the beach at night during nesting or hatching season if you're not with a local guide. You should wear dark clothing and avoid taking flashlights or flash cameras with you, and be prepared for a late night as most tours operate from 10pm-midnight!
For more information about Costa Rica's sea turtle conservation programmes, check out the Sea Turtle Conservancy (STC).
NB: I didn't taken any photos of our visit to the sea turtles as camera flashes can startle and disorientate sea turtles. The photo of a green sea turtle in this article was taken by Travis Colbert (from Unsplash).
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