The Leatherback Turtles of Costa Rica
Scientists still debate how and why the Olive Ridleys synchronize mass egg laying events
What makes the leatherback such a draw for visitors on Costa Rica tours and elsewhere is its mammoth size. The largest of the marine turtles, the leatherback grows four to six feet in length and weighs between 500 and 1,500 pounds. Watching this slow-moving spectacle and the more action-packed event of seeing the young sprint from the beach to the sea are memorable activities for visitors who travel to Costa Rica.
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Poaching still threatens the leatherback’s existence
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The critically endangered leatherback turtle spends more time submerged than other of the marine turtles, dives deeper and migrates across oceans, feeding just off shore as well as in open water. In Costa Rica, the species goes by the name of "baula" or "canal." The leatherback derives its name from a leather-like ridged black shell with white dots. The leatherback species lives between thirty and fifty years, longer than any other turtle species.
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Leatherbacks have much to fear from humans. Though the leatherback’s shell is not hard and its meat is unappetizing, its eggs still make the slaughter worthwhile. The traditional method that poachers use to harvest the eggs is to slice off the turtle’s very long flippers to prevent escape and then turn the female on her back, leaving her to die a slow death after the eggs have been removed. Leatherbacks may also consume discarded plastic bags, mistaking them for jelly fish, the main leatherback diet. Fishing nets have also taken their toll. This magnificent species has managed to exist for a hundred million years, but is on the verge of extinction today.
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To protect the world’s most important leatherback nesting site, the Costa Rican government established Leatherback (Las Baulas) Marine National Park in 1991. Ten years later, the government took more drastic measures, establishing the Cocos-Baulas migratory corridor down its entire Pacific coast to protect the leatherback and other species. Conservationists hope that the corridor will become a regional effort beyond the borders of Costa Rica.
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Governments and environmental organizations throughout the world are trying to prevent the leatherback’s extinction. The Sea Turtle Conservancy has been tracking their migration as they nest along the coasts of Costa Rica and Panama since 2003. Laws can only do so much to protect the species. One effective way to save the leatherbacks and other species is to convince communities in the vicinity of nesting sites that saving the turtles is in their best interest. Various environmental organizations, including the World Wildlife Fund, have been educating communities about the benefits of eco-tourism, poaching prevention and the infrastructure improvements necessary to attract more eco-tourists on Costa Rica tours. In northwest Costa Rica, for instance, these efforts resulted in the elimination of leatherback poaching altogether at the Playa Junquillal, an important nesting beach on the Nicoya Peninsula.
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In Marino Las Baulas National Park, visitors on Costa Rica tours will be able to watch all of the country’s marine turtle species, though leatherbacks are the star attraction. Playa Grande, Playa Langosta and Playa Ventanas are the beaches where the species nests in the park. Though populations have diminished, hundreds of leatherbacks still come here each year to lay their eggs between October and March. Females deposit eggs every ten days during their nesting season. Nesting may also be seen further north at Santa Rosa National Park.
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One of the world’s largest populations of leatherbacks along the Caribbean coast nests at Tortuguero National Park from February to July. Another location to observe leatherbacks nesting is Gandoca-Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge near the town of Manzanillo from March to July. Visitors on Costa Rica tours may want to schedule their travel in April or May to increase their chances of seeing more leatherbacks in either location.
