It’s pitch dark. The only lights a distant glow of flashlight on the beach, and the sea of stars over my head. I cross the tree line and my feet hit the soft sand, the roar of the surf growing louder as I make my way over to the handful of Tortuguero residents watching three green turtle hatchlings making their very first journey from nest to sea.
A newly hatched “Tortuguita” appears in the scattered flashlight almost beneath my feet. As if driven by an invisible GPS, she moves with a purpose toward the Caribbean Sea, where she will spend 99.9% of her life. I watch in wonder as tiny Tortuguita propels herself over one sand hill after the other, flinging sand away with her tiny flippers as she crawls closer to the roaring surf. I later learned that if in fact this was a female turtle, I was witnessing a critical connection between the hatchling and this very beach where her life began.
Sea turtles have been swimming earth’s oceans for over two hundred million years. For reference, dinosaurs went extinct around 65 million years ago. By comparison, we, the modern homo sapiens, have been around for just 200,000 - 300,000 years.
When I read that sea turtle populations around the world are in decline, and that every reason for this points to human activity, I take it as a wakeup call. This story was inspired by the Costa Rican community I have come to know that is answering that call.
A Note on Human Nature
Before I share with you why Tortuguero, Costa Rica is worthy of this story, and your time reading it, why bother write about sea turtles?
(photo credit: Sea Turtle Conservancy / Dan Legend @danhlegend)
Human nature is tricky. We have a tendency to take what we have for granted. When you look at this photo of a sea turtle, your reaction might be - yep, that’s a sea turtle. Maybe, if you have an affinity for nature, (or turtles) you might think something like, “What a magnificent animal.” Now imagine you’re seeing this picture, and sea turtles are extinct. It’s a bit different, right? I know I would think, “I wish we had valued and protected this creature while it was still here. I wish I had done more.”
I write and share my experience learning about this remarkable reptile in attempt to remind us of the life in our oceans. With so many distractions on land, it can be easy to forget. In our efforts at Clean Planet to educate and support healthy communities that live in harmony with nature, we have a chance to teach our youth how to value the land; something our ancestors knew.
Whatever we clearly value, we will find a way to protect. In my desire to help preserve and celebrate the animals on land and creatures in the sea, I know I am not alone.
The Miracle of a Sea Turtle’s Life
GPS trackers show that green turtles nesting on Tortuguero’s beaches on the northeast coast of Costa Rica roam far as the Florida Keys, the Dominican Republic and the islands off the coast of Venezuela in South America. Like you and me every day, they are in search of food. Remarkably, the female turtles will find their way back to this exact beach where they were born to lay their eggs.
60 days after mom digs a two-foot-deep hole and lays her eggs, the hatchlings dig their way out. The moment they emerge, their little flippers propel them in the direction that their internal compass is pointing – to the sea. It is this initial scramble to the sea that helps set their internal tracker to know where to return when it’s time to lay their eggs. This is called, “Natal homing.” Marine biologists say that this is likely a combination of their ability to gauge and navigate the earth’s magnetic field, and also the imprinting of characteristics of their birth beach, such as smell.
As much as science can explain, this is still nothing short of a miracle. As I watch Tortuguita disappear into the surf, I can’t help but think about the daunting gauntlet of perils this tiny creature will face out in the open ocean. The experts I met in Tortuguero say that on average, 1 in 1,000 sea turtle hatchlings survive. Somehow, this species finds a way to keep on keepin’ on.
Tortuguero, Costa Rica as a Model
I came to the remote village of Tortuguero, accessible only by boat or plane, to learn about the most important sea turtle nesting habitat in the western Caribbean. As fate would have it, the father of the owner of my rental cabin (Iván Ramos Sr.) works with the Sea Turtle Conservancy, which has a museum and its research offices a stone’s throw from where I now sit.
Iván Ramos Sr. has been walking 17 miles on Tortuguero’s beaches every Saturday (except four) since 2008. The purpose of his weekly trek is to count turtle hatchlings and half-moons (the mark in the sand left by a sea turtle leaving the ocean to scope out a nesting site). I share about Iván here not just to celebrate a local hero, but to underscore what he, the Sea Turtle Conservancy (STC) and the village of Tortuguero do so well.
As I see it, Tortuguero offers a conservation model that can be adapted and replicated wherever people have the will to protect the land and the species they value. Though the conservation work in Tortuguero is largely focused on sea turtles, it leads by example beyond protection of just this species. Tortuguero prohibits beachfront construction, offers educational opportunities to spread awareness of the rich wildlife within its 77,000-acre national park, invests in research and even conducts tourism in a conscious, regulated manner.
Threats
Sea turtles face a staggering amount of threats. As you might imagine, humans are the source of the majority of those threats. For example – illegal poaching for their meat, their eggs, (said to be an aphrodisiac) or for the shell of the Hawksbill turtle, (used in jewelry) small pieces of ocean plastics that they mistake for food, declining populations of natural food sources, and sadly, getting tangled in and unable to free themselves from commercial fishing nets. The loss of safe nesting habitat due to commercialization (more prevalent on the opposite (Pacific) Coast of Costa Rica, and much more so in neighboring countries) certainly doesn’t make it any easier for the turtles.
Then there’s nature. Adult turtles are prey for larger sharks, and in #CostaRica, one of the largest jaguar populations in Central America. The jaguars are keen to the green turtle’s nesting schedule and can pounce on the mother as she lays her eggs. When the eggs hatch, birds can pick them off as the hatchlings scramble for the sea. This is why most turtle hatchlings make their beeline for the surf under the cover of darkness.
Tortuguero is doing everything it can to improve the 1 in 1,000 survival odds, at least in terms of the threats from humans. Unlike many places on the Caribbean, to kill and eat a turtle or its eggs in Tortuguero is unheard of. It’s supposedly illegal in Costa Rica, but it still happens. There will always be people who value the cash from a sack of turtle eggs more than the would-be lives of those turtles. Still, it’s quite the risk here – to get caught harvesting a sea turtle or her eggs in Tortuguero lands you behind bars.
The entire village of Tortuguero is on board with this, and they have good incentive to be – tourism is the primary source of revenue here. Still, #Tortuguero is much more than tourism. There is a consciousness around sea turtles that seems to form an identity for the community. Locals take pride that their beaches attract three species of sea turtle (Green, Hawksbill, and Leatherback) for nesting. The green turtles in particular love these shores – in 2020 the Sea Turtle Conservancy counted 18,908 hatchlings born on Tortuguero’s beaches.
Solutions
Beyond a strong identity and pride for the sea turtles that favor this small section Caribbean beach, the community of Tortuguero has sought to understand what helps the turtles thrive beyond the obvious policing of illegal poachers.
For instance, the community petitioned for and received government approval for turtle-friendly street lights to line the walking path that parallels the beach. The softer glow of the orange-yellow lights won’t disorient the mother turtles as they make their way to shore to find a place to lay their eggs.
Also, uneducated, unconscious tourists can overcrowd beaches and discourage turtles from nesting. To combat this, Tortuguero has a program developed in partnership with the STC limiting groups to ten visitors per guide, who walk with the guide on a path that parallels the beach.
When the guide walking the beach (alone) in search of turtles finds a nesting green turtle, he radios to his compadre walking with the tour guests to then bring them onto the beach to see the mother laying and burying her eggs to protect them from predators.
Finally, as you walk up and down Tortuguero beach, you see almost no evidence of human influence. No giant hotels, no resorts; in fact, there are barely any visible structures of any kind. In a world where beachfront property yields a hefty payday for landowners, this is small miracle to see.
Behind the scenes, it’s the locals who have petitioned the government to prevent deforestation (at least in the last 70 years) and they have succeeded – the Costa Rican government has listened.
The Challenges of Sea Turtle Conservation
At Clean Planet we celebrate communities and community leaders that make the effort to dispose of waste properly, coexist with nature and respect all animals.
In partnership with local parks, communities of volunteers like Iván Ramos help catch illegal poachers and assist the #STC with sea turtle research. But there are limitations. In Tortuguero, a model for all of Latin America, there is only enough funding for 12 park staff members to cover all 77,000 acres in Tortuguero National Park.
In general, the Costa Rican government does a much better job at protecting land than most Latin American countries. One quarter of Costa Rica’s land is protected reserves, preserves, and biospheres. But with such few park staff, enforcement of illegal activity is a challenge.
Out at sea, it’s even harder to police illegal poaching, as fishermen from all over the world come to the Caribbean to catch turtles. Yes, this type of enforcement is hard to do. But isn’t it worth it?
The Path Forward
My hope for us today, and for future generations, is that we can raise our kids with a deep respect for the animals both on land and in the ocean with which we share the planet. I believe this is possible. I also believe it’s essential to a healthy balance of life on earth when our kids grow to be adults, and have children of their own.
When I meet people like Iván, who doesn’t get paid for those 17 miles of weekly trekking searching for signs of sea turtles, it reminds me that we must share and celebrate individual and organized efforts to respect all animals, as respect is the necessary foundation for protecting species that are here with us.
It is this spirit of strong-willed locals, dedicated non-profits, and conscious, connected tour guides that gives me hope for the tiny turtle I was able to witness.
If you’ve read this far, I thank you, and leave you with a few important questions. What animal or place in nature speaks to you? What’s worth protecting while it’s still here? What do you value that would be worth a conversation, a letter, or a few moments of your time?
May each of us let our voice be heard, loud and clear, as we advocate for the miracles of nature that make earth so magnificent.
Comentarios