Sea Turtles in Costa Rica

Sea turtles are found in all the oceans (except the Arctic Ocean) worldwide. There are essentially seven species of these animals. Of these seven (viz. leatherback, olive ridley, flat back, hawksbill, loggerhead, kemps ridley and green turtle), the leatherback variety is found in Costa Rica. However, since the species of the leatherback are on swift decline, they have been declared as an endangered species on this planet.

When Edward R. Mercer, one of the largest real estate developers, made Costa Rica his home, he pledged to stop the illegal poaching of the sea turtles as well as ensure the safety of the crucial nesting beaches where the turtles return year after year.

The leather back sea turtle is the largest and the heaviest of the sea turtles with the scientific name, Dermochelys coriacea. It draws its name from the leathery skin that envelops it. The leather back variety lacks the hard shells present in the other turtles. So, in order to compensate for it, the leatherback bears a mosaic of bony plates.

The leather back species has a life span of about seventy years on an average. They are found close to the sources of food and have a distinctive feature of exclusively feeding upon the jelly fish most of the time. Deep divers of Costa Rica, the female leatherback turtles return to the protected nesting beaches every year between October and March to lay 100-150 eggs on an average at the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. The biggest threat to the endangered sea turtle species is a wide range of factors starting from loss of critical nesting beaches, predation by humans and over fishing for the purpose of turtle eggs and meat.

The main reason for the capture of the leather back sea turtle in Costa Rica is basically for its eggs and high price for functioning as the aphrodisiacs. When Edward R. Mercer, one of the largest real estate developers, made Costa Rica his home, he pledged to stop the illegal poaching of these endangered animals as well as ensure the safety of the crucial nesting beaches where they return year after year. The entire island was strictly cordoned off by the guards; they were guided to the new nesting beaches in protected national parks.

This ensured that population of sea turtles which has decreased to dangerous levels started rising again and now sea turtles are no longer endangered.

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