The Leatherback Turtles Have Begun their Departure from Costa Rica.

The huge, magnificent Leatherback turtles have started their long journey of about 7,000 kilometers from Guanacaste, Costa Rica to seas of Chile and back. The turtles repeat the trek every three or four years, always to return to Costa Rica in order to lay their eggs and reproduce where they were born.

Scientists from Costa Rica, France and the United States conducted a study that was published in the PloS Biology Magazine this week that stated that the turtle’s journey takes place once they have laid their eggs. Nesting usually starts in October and lasts until March or beginning of April the following year. The Leatherbacks nest in one of three beaches, Playa Grande, Playa Ventanas or Playa Langosta, all of which are located within the protected National Marine Park Las Baulas on the Guanacaste coast. During this 6-month period, each turtle can nest up to 11 times, laying up to 66 eggs at a time, a process that can take up to nine days.

Once nesting is over, the turtles depart for the Galapagos islands in Ecuador, where they feed to regain some strength, but never to lay eggs, a priviledge resereved for the Costa Rica beaches. Their journey then takes them down the Pacific along the South American coast this time in a more dispersed manner.

This study of the turtle’s journey began in 1993, lasting for over 14 years, and should prove to be vital for the conservation of the turtles. The researchers were able to confirm the existence of a natural marine corridor between Costa Rica and the Galapagos, which is evidenced by the way the turtles move in the North Pacific of the country, according to the administrator of the Las Baulas Park.

The study also covered ways the countries positioned along the migration route can help these reptiles through improved protection standards on land as well as in the sea. These countries include Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, and Chile.

The study also revealed that the turtles are indeed excellent divers; they can dive 900 meters deep and swim in freezing water, while regulating their temperature and maintain their body up to 18 Celsius above the sea temperature.

The study did leave some questions unanswered, such as why these turtles, when leaving the Galapagos, seem to spread out without any kind of definite plan in the Pacific. Some theories suggest that the animals are looking for areas where the water is fresher and where there is more food for them or that that they do this in an effort to avoid predators such as sharks or even fishing boats. Still, why each turtle follows her own route independently has no precise answer.

Since 1993, the movements of 46 females that nest in Guanacaste have been monitored thanks to satellite transmitters, this during a period of 12,000 days (nearly 33 years). It is hoped that this and further studies will help in the conservation of these fantastic and mysterious reptiles, whose population has decreased by 90% in the past 20 years.

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Filed under: Costa Rican Wildlife on July 16th, 2008