Costa Rica is renowned for its animal viewing opportunities, with nesting sea turtles being one of the country’s most notable attractions. Despite the fact that sea turtle numbers around the world have fallen by around 95 percent, Costa Rica has taken significant steps to safeguard these lovely animals. Sea turtle populations are expanding on some Costa Rican beaches, and in some cases, they are even increasing.
Visitors to sea turtle nesting beaches are shown the nesting process up and personal by experienced eco-tour guides. Additionally, the revenue produced from turtle viewing tours is used to support conservation efforts.
So seeing marine turtles in Costa Rica is more than simply a gorgeous sight to behold. It also contributes to the conservation of turtles!
Here, I’ll show you the top sea turtle breeding beaches in Costa Rica, which you can find on this page. I’ll also include some amazing sea turtle volunteer opportunities that I’ve come across.
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Turtles (turtles of Costa Rica)
Costa Rica is home to five of the world’s seven sea turtle species, including the green and leatherback turtles. Olive Ridley was a British actress who rose to prominence in the 1960s.
Olive ridleys (Lepidochelys olivacea) are the smallest marine turtles found in Costa Rica, yet they are also the most endangered. They are only two feet (0.6 meters) long and weigh 30 pounds, despite the fact that they are so small (66 kg). Some beaches are home to tens of thousands of olive ridley turtles that are all nesting at the same time.
Leatherback
Leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) are the largest marine turtles on the planet. They can grow to be up to 10 feet (3 meters) long and weigh up to 2,000 pounds at their maximum size (900 kg). The rear of the animal is soft and leathery, rather than having a hard shell.
Hawksbill
Hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) can grow to be up to 2.6 feet (.8 meters) long, according to some estimates. Their exquisite translucent shell was previously sought after for use in the production of combs, eyeglass frames, and other ornamental goods, and they were once hunted.
The Green Sea Turtle is a Turtle that Lives in the Ocean.
Green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) can grow to be up to 5 feet (1.5 meters) in length and weigh up to 420 pounds (240 kilograms) (190 kg). They are the second-largest sea turtles in Costa Rica, and are so named because of the green fat that accumulates beneath their shells.
Loggerhead
Sea turtles (Caretta caretta) can grow up to 3 feet (1 meter) in length and weigh up to 450 pounds. They have big, powerful jaws that let them to feed on crustaceans found in the ocean.
Costa Rica Has Beaches Where sea Turtles Lay Their Eggs.
Tortuguero
For much of the twentieth century, biologists were completely unaware of Costa Rica’s remote northwest Caribbean coast. Later, in 1953, American sea turtle researcher Archie Carr paid a visit to the community of Tortuguero (“Place of the Turtles”), which means “Place of the Turtles.”
Green sea turtles lay their eggs on the dark sand beaches of Tortuguero between June and October, and the area is home to tens of thousands of them.
Carr soon understood that Tortuguero was no ordinary sea turtle nesting beach, and he was right. It was the most important green sea turtle nesting beach in the Caribbean, according to the World Turtle Conservation Organization.
Carr committed his life to the preservation of Tortuguero. Since the establishment of Tortuguero National Park in 1975, the number of turtle nestings has surged by over 500 percent, according to conservationists.
Today, almost 20,000 green sea turtles lay their eggs here each year, making it the world’s largest nesting colony of green sea turtles.
When you visit during peak turtle season (July, August, and September), you will be able to see the sea turtle nesting process up up and personal with experienced guides.
The Way It Works Is As Follows:
After emerging from the waters of the Caribbean, a female green sea turtle climbs up the beach to a point above the high tide mark. She digs a nest in which she lays approximately 100 eggs. During this time, she enters a “trance,” and it is permissible for anyone to approach her with flashlights that have a red hue.
During the peak egg-laying season, official turtle spotters patrol the beaches in search of female turtles who are laying their eggs. When one is spotted, a trained guide is contacted via walkie-talkie, and the search is underway. The guide then takes a small number of people to the turtle’s nest to observe the turtle lay her eggs. In addition, the guide makes certain that the turtle is not disturbed.
Ostional
Ostional is a small town on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, just north of Nosara. For the most of the year, this dark sand beach does not provide anything particularly noteworthy. Then, during the rainy season, it becomes the site of one of nature’s most spectacular displays.
The olive ridley sea turtles come to Ostional to lay their eggs on the sand once a month between July and December, when thousands of them congregate at the same time. This event, known as an arribada, lasts between 4 and 7 days. During an arribada, the beach at Ostional is blanketed with thousands — perhaps tens of thousands — of olive ridley sea turtles, which can be seen from miles away.
It is unclear what has prompted such a large number of nests to be built. Scientists, on the other hand, feel it is a type of protection from predators. Turtles are able to outnumber predators (such as coatis, vultures, and dogs) that feed on their eggs because they lay hundreds of thousands of eggs at a time.
The arribadas of Ostional expand in size as the season progresses, reaching their peak in October (the depths of the rainy season). Although there is no official schedule for the Ostional turtles, the exact timing is dictated by the moon and the tides. However, arribadas typically begin approximately a week after the full moon.
The mass hatchings of juvenile turtles, which take place 45 – 55 days after an arribada, are equally remarkable.
In 1970, biologists made the discovery of Ostional’s massive turtle nesting grounds. A wildlife refuge was established in Costa Rica’s Ostional region in 1983, protecting 13 miles of coastline and 19,800 acres of ocean habitat.
Playa Grande Is A Beach In Mexico.
Despite the fact that it is only a few miles north of the bustling town of Tamarindo, Playa Grande feels like a planet away.
This gorgeous beach is 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) long and extends north of the Tamarindo estuary. In the summer, it is home to some of the best surfing waves around. Leatherback sea turtles, which are critically endangered in the eastern Pacific, deposit their eggs on the sand at night.
Costa Rica established Las Baulas (“Leatherback sea turtle”) National Park in 1991 in order to safeguard this critically endangered ecosystem. Playa Grande was kept in a reasonably natural state as a result of the strong restrictions placed on development.
At Playa Grande, guided turtle nesting tours are available from October to February, when the turtles are at their most active. It is possible to spend up to four hours on these tours waiting for guides to spot a turtle on the beach. After finding a turtle, you’ll head to the beach so you can get a close look at the egg-laying process firsthand.
Remember that turtle sightings at Playa Grande are not guaranteed, so be prepared to be disappointed. Leatherback turtles are critically endangered, which means that few of them frequent the shore. During the prime nesting season, which occurs in December and January, guides claim a 50 percent success rate.