Costa Rica Sea Turtle Species
There are seven species of sea turtles in the world. Bathed by both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, Costa Rica is a paradise for marine life inhabited by five of these species.
Four of the five sea turtle species found in Costa Rica can be seen on the Caribbean coast, including green (Chelonia mydas), leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), and loggerhead (Caretta caretta) sea turtles.
The fifth species, the olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) can only be found on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
Green turtle hatchling crawling to the sea at Playa Tres (Photo: G. Borges)
Green turtle hatchling encountered during a morning survey (Image: G. Borges)
Turtle Nesting Costa Rica
In Costa Rica, 5 species of sea turtles use the black volcanic sand of the country’s coastline for nesting and to lay their eggs. This is a magic process in which the female sea turtles come onto the beach to lay eggs after undergoing several hundred kilometers of migrations and enduring the courting of many overly eager males.
First, these females find a suitable spot on the sand. They can be pretty picky, and if something in the environment doesn’t seem right or looks a bit scary, she will go back to the sea without laying the eggs. This is called a false crawl. When a turtle does find the perfect spot and all the conditions are right, she performs a nesting ritual that has been repeated for millions of years.
Turtle Hatching Costa Rica
Seeing baby turtles (AKA hatchlings) is one of the best things about visiting a sea turtle nesting beach, and being able to help a sea turtle hatchling by protecting its nest is one of the most rewarding parts of our job.
Approximately 60 days after a female sea turtle lays her eggs, the hatchlings break the eggshells with a specialized egg tooth and, helped by its siblings, emerge to the surface of the sand. Because they are an easy target for predators once they have emerged from the nests, hatchling sea turtles make a break towards the sea. After entering the water, hatchlings will swim several miles using up the energy that was contained in the egg yolk until they find suitable oceanic currents and protective environments, such as floating algae.
In theory, hatchling sea turtles will spend their first years associated with this environment that can provide them with food, protection from predators, and a thermal advantage essential for the development of these cold-blooded (ectothermic) reptiles. However, so little is known about the fate of hatchling sea turtles after they enter the sea that this phase of their lives is commonly referred to as “the lost years”.
Leatherback hatchling being released after a nest excavation
Hawksbill hatchling beginning its journey to the sea at Playa Tres (Image: G. Borges)
Costa Rica Turtle Season
Sea turtles are migratory animals that can travel thousands of miles between the areas where they feed and the beaches in which they nest. Therefore, at the nesting beaches we only see turtles during the nesting season. Fortunately, at Turtle Love’s project area on the Caribbean coast there are two nesting seasons and we see turtles most of the year. Leatherback turtles start nesting in February and the season lasts until June.
The peak of the nesting season, and the best time to see adult leatherbacks nesting is late March to early June. Also, because the nests will take about 2 months to hatch, the best time to see leatherback hatchlings is from May through August.
Green turtles start nesting in June and their season lasts until November. The peak of the nesting season, and the best time to see adult green turtles nesting is late June to early November. Also, the best time to see green turtle hatchlings is from September through December.
Hawksbill and Loggerhead turtles also nest at Turtle Love’s project area, but their nesting season is less marked and
nesting events will occur throughout the year.
Poaching & Threats
Although Tortuguero is a successful conservation story, high levels of illegal harvest (or poaching) still threaten sea turtles and their eggs in areas adjacent to the National Park. Turtle Love extends protection and monitoring to another 5 km of important nesting beach for three endangered sea turtle species. Illegal harvest of nests and adult green and hawksbill turtles (for meat and shell products, respectively) is the primary threat Turtle Love seeks to address. Turtle Love works with residents of local communities to raise awareness and foster development based on sustainable use of sea turtles through ecotourism.
By running a monitoring project and maintaining a presence on the beach, we discourage poaching in the short term, and by involving local community members in the conservation effort, we foster long-term change by providing a sustainable income source that does not rely on harvesting eggs and adult sea turtles. Our monitoring activities also provide the Costa Rican Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) with data necessary to guide management of this nesting beach and help ensure the continued survival of these incredible animals.
Our Scientific Director, Renato Bruno, with a critically endangered hawksbill turtle (Image: G. Borges)
Playa Tres on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica
Tortuguero National Park
Tortuguero National Park (TNP) was created on September 24, 1970, to protect the most important green turtle nesting beach in the Atlantic. Since the creation of TNP, green turtle populations recovered somewhat even when individuals from this population are being heavily hunted in Nicaragua. This shows the importance of protecting a sea turtle nesting beach.
However, TNP also is an example of another conservation story, that of flagship or umbrella species. Although the National Park was created to protect charismatic green turtles (the flagship species), it was expanded in 1980, 1995, and 1998 and ended up protecting over 312km of rainforest, estuarine, and marine habitats inhabited by thousands of other species of the Costa Rican flora and fauna, some of which are as or even more endangered than green turtles themselves.
All other species protected in TNP are under the green turtle conservation “umbrella”. Nowadays, 1% of the protected area is used for tourism. Be it walking through the jungle and the beach or navigating the canals or marine area, one can experience the biodiversity that this National Park is famous for.
Donate
Help us protect sea turtles! Please donate to support Turtle Love’s sea turtle conservation and community outreach activities.
Leatherback hatchling being released after a nest excavation (Image: M. Grané)
Your donation will be used to support the following:
- Supplies used to monitor sea turtle nesting activity (for example, tagging equipment for individual sea turtle identification, field notebooks for data collection, headlamps for night surveys).
- Materials for environmental education and outreach events at local schools and community centers (art supplies, books, games, posters, pamphlets).
- English lessons and capacity-building workshops for local families hosting international volunteers.
- Visits to the nesting beach for local school children.
- Room, board, and salaries for local research assistants and staff.
Please donate to help us protect sea turtles!
We partner with Amigos of Costa Rica to accept tax-deductible donations in the United States. Please visit Turtle Love’s dedicated page to donate online.