TURTLES

Leatherbacks are a species of turtle that have literally been around for millions of years. Leatherback turtle bones have been found and dated back to slightly over 100 million years.

Today this species is in peril, and a variety of organizations and governments are working hard to prevent them from going extinct.

The leatherback turtle is a turtle on the move. Each year these amazing turtles migrate hundreds of miles through open oceans. Every 3-4 years, female turtles return to their nesting spots along the Pacific coastline of Costa Rica to lay their precious eggs. Note: each year there is nesting, but individual females only return every 3-4 years. When the females come into nest they come out of the water and spend just enough time to lay their eggs and return to water. The males of the species never leave the ocean waters. If a female were to live long enough, it could come back and forth over a period as long as 25-30 years. Unfortunately the majority do not last this long due to contact with man.

While adults have very few natural predators, the young have a tough time early on. Birds and fish love to feed off the small turtles soon after they hatch. Many turtles never make it past this stage.

If you have a chance to see these turtles lay their eggs during nesting season in Costa Rica it really is something special.

Interesting Facts About The Leatherbacks

• Leatherbacks love to eat jellyfish. Their beak is actually specially designed to help them eat their favorite food!
• Leatherback turtles lay both yolked and yolkless eggs.
• The temperature inside the sand where the eggs are buried determines the sex of the turtle.
• Instead of having a hard shell like most turtles, the leatherback has a shell that is actually more leatherlike as opposed to a shell. Ie the name leatherback turtle.

THE PACIFIC OLIVE RIDLEY (LEPIDOCHELIS OLIVACEA)

Of all the species of sea turtles, the Pacific olive ridley is the most abundant. However like many other species of sea turtles they are feeling increasing pressures, and as such their overall numbers are in decline.

The oliver ridley tends to be found in tropical waters around the world. In the Americas major nesting sites are found in Mexico and along the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica. In general the species tends to be found in coastal areas, though at certain times large groups have been seen out in the open ocean. Not a lot is known about this turtle. Scientists observe nesting habits, but once the turtles are back in the waters, very little is actually known about their habits.

Scientists are not sure of what constites a good diet for the turtles. However examination of some turtles indicate a preference for jellyfish, small fish, and small crabs.

This species of turtles is well known for nesting in mass. It is not uncommon to see thousands of turtles come ashore at the same time to lay eggs. This occurance is known as arribadas, and in Costa Rica occurs at Playa Nancite in the Santa Rosa National Park.

Seeing the turtles come ashore to lay their eggs is the highlight of many people's visit to Costa Rica. .

Much of the information on our site as it relates to Costa Rica is:

Courtesy of Christopher P. Baker and Avalon Travel Publishing.
© 2004 Christopher P. Baker. All Rights Reserved.

Spanish Abroad, Inc. highly recommends Christopher P. Baker's book: Moon Handbooks Costa Rica. Click on the image to visit his website where you can purchase this book or find out more about the author.