The Plight of the Leatherback Turtle by John Wnek

John Wnek participated in a 1999 summer program at the Pacuare Reserve in Costa Rica. All of the facts about the Leatherback turtle were obtained through field observations and the research of Stanley Rodriguez, manager of the Pacuare Reserve. John is a teacher, Ocean County Vo-Tech School, Marine Science Program, and he is also one of the dedicated Bay Watch Water Monitors for ALO.

Photographs are by the renowned artists and photographers, Robert Yance and Sabi Bivas.

Alliance for a Living Ocean

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Working with an endangered species is a humbling experience. It reminds us that life is fragile and that we are sharing this earth with many others. It also reminds us that we, as a species, make the greatest impact on others. One endangered species, the Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), like other sea turtles, has become the focus of conservation efforts. Leatherback turtles, the largest of all sea turtle species growing to over six feet (carapace length) and 1200 pounds, are found throughout the world. The sight of these magnificent creatures is becoming a distant memory. The life of a Leatherback turtle is demanding, especially for the female, which must travel the oceans, reproduce, and try to survive ever-changing conditions. Sharks attack sea turtles since there is a decline in fisheries worldwide, thus putting the turtles in peril. Humans have made the greatest negative impact on the Leatherback turtle population, including their precious eggs.... Another major human threat to the population is poaching, digging up the turtle eggs to sell. Despite the negative human impacts, there are some positive programs, focusing on the Leatherback turtle. We will follow a female Leatherback turtle, name Adrienne, through her difficult life journey. We will also focus on a dedicated group of conservationists at the Pacuare Reserve in Costa Rica who are hoping to make a difference in the Leatherback turtle population.

Adrienne began her life several decades ago, hatched on a beach in Central America on the Caribbean Sea. As a hatchling, Adrienne climbed out of her nest deep in the sand, then made her way to the ocean where she began her journey. She experienced much history, surviving through World War II, the Cold War, and the fall of the Berlin Wall. She had to be strong, as she was one, out of one thousand turtles, that survived past hatchlings, becoming an adult. Hatchlings are extremely vulnerable, especially the journey from the nest to the ocean which takes its greatest toll. It takes three days for hatchlings to reach the ocean from the nest. After the successful turtle take their first swim, they must make it past the reefs filled with anxious sharks waiting for an easy meal. Adrienne, being a female Leatherback, began her journey traveling north along the western Atlantic, following the Gulf Stream, then south along the European and North African coats back to Central America. Adrienne completed this cycle at least four times during her life. Sometime between the ages of eight and fifteen, she returned to her nesting area, ready to mate, producing her first precious bundle of eggs. Adrienne returned to the same beach where she was hatched to deposit her eggs, as do all female Leatherbacks. In fact, conservation programs have relocated eggs to other beaches. But when those hatchlings became reproductive adults, they returned to the same beach where their mother deposited the eggs, not where they were hatched. As a younger turtle, Adrienne returned to the beach every year for four years to deposit her eggs, then every two years. After 12 years as a reproductive adult, she then returned every three years, then every four years and finally, every ten years. Adrienne came back to the same beach an average of six times within the same nesting season to deposit eggs.

Leatherback turtles deposit an average of one hundred eggs, most of which are fertilized, but some unfertilized. Eggs are deposited in deep nests about 30 inches (80 centimeters) dug by the turtle with her rear flippers. Leatherbacks deposit the fertilized eggs first, then a layer of unfertilized eggs is deposited on top. The layer of unfertilized eggs act as a protective barrier, helping to regulate the temperature in the nest, and provide an initial barrier against predators including raccoons and birds. Also, the incubation temperature of the nest is important to determine the sex of the turtles. Males develop between 28 - 31 degrees C, while females develop between 31 - 35 degrees C. Anything above 35 degrees C is fatal. Adrienne, making her final egg deposit, made her last trip to the Pacuare Reserve in late June, the last month of Leatherback nesting season. Adrienne's final deposit was a tribute to her determination and her mission to carry on her lineage. She deposited her eggs where a group of dedicated conservationists shared the same mission.

The 800 hectare Pacuare Nature Reserve, located north of Limon on the Caribbean Sea, has six kilometers (4 miles) of nesting beachfront. The focus of Pacuare is a turtle protection program attracting naturalist, conservationists, and volunteers throughout the world. The primary nesting turtles are Leatherbacks and Greens. The reserve is managed by the Endangered Wildlife Trust / Rainforest Concern, a non-profit conservation program of the United Kingdom. Managing operations at the Pacuare Reserve is Stanley Rodriguez, a Leatherback turtle expert. His dedicated staff consists of Fiona Woodward of the United Kingdom, who manages the volunteers and turtle patrols, and her assistant Wilian Perez of Ecuador. The Coast Guard of Costa Rica also play a role at the reserve by patrolling the waters for poachers and rescuing eggs. The Leatherback's eggs are poached, then sold in many areas throughout the world. Poachers in Costa Rica can make fifty dollars per nest (50 cents per egg), which seems minimal. But the average salary of a Costa Rican is $200.00 per month, making it profitable to poach. There are penalties for poaching Leatherback eggs including a one dollar fine per egg and jail time. But other turtle species, like Ridley turtles, have legal quotas making it impossible to enforce the regulations since all sea turtle eggs are similar in size and shape. Poachers, worrying about getting caught, try to pull the eggs out of the nesting turtles quickly. Therefore, they cut open the back of the nesting female and pull out the eggs, leaving her to die on the beach. Last year, between 250 - 300 Leatherbacks were killed on Panama beaches alone.

At night, the Leatherbacks deposit their eggs along the beaches, thus most of the patrols are late at night into the early morning hours. The patrols also discourage poachers from coming on the beaches at the reserve. The day is time to catch some rest and clean the beaches of debris that may cause problems for the young hatchlings making their way to the water. Stanley Rodriguez uses a small hatchling house where turtle eggs are incubated, then released as hatchlings to the sea. It takes between 70 and 90 days for the turtles to incubate and hatch. Statistically, according to Stanley Rodriguez, the reserve boasts a 70% hatchling success rate in the incubation house, while there is a 74% success rate in natural nests on the beaches. Overall, the success rate is impressive, well above the 5% success rate found at other nesting sites throughout Central America.

On a cloudy evening in late June, Wilian Perez led a turtle patrol. Leatherbacks instinctively deposit eggs in non-developed areas on the beaches, because bright lights from inhabited areas tend to discourage turtles from coming on the beach. The Pacuare Reserve has no electricity, making it attractive to turtles, and the lack of light keeps the area hidden from poachers. As we headed north on the beach, we received a call from another patrol that there was a large Leatherback turtle climbing up on the beach. We then rushed up the beach about two kilometers (1.3 miles) where we encountered a massive Leatherback, Adrienne. Adrienne appeared tired as she began to dig herself into the sand with her powerful front flippers. She dug a pit to support her body, then began using her rear flippers like hands scooping sand out of a small hole. As she continued to dig, she hit water and let out a sigh... After exerting a great amount of energy climbing and digging, she had to move her massive front flippers to relocate herself. She seemed extremely tired, but would not leave the beach until she completed her task. Therefore, determined, she moved up on the beach, but still not far enough. She began to dig her nest and hit water again! She then let out another loud sigh. But she was determined, she would not give up. She took whatever energy she could muster, pulled herself up on the beach and began to dig a third time. Wilian said that the entire process could take at least one and one-half hours. Adrienne secured herself and began to dig her nest using her hind flippers. We watched as she dug, then we positioned ourselves to receive her eggs. When a Leatherback deposits eggs, she goes into a relaxed state making it easy to obtain the eggs, take measurements, and check the condition of the flippers. As she was digging, we noticed that Adrienne was missing her tags on rear flippers, and that she had a hole in her right hind flipper possibly caused by a shark bite. When she could not dig any deeper, she sighed and became perfectly still. It was time for the eggs to be deposited. Adrienne moved her tail with contractions, releasing eggs into the hole. We gathered the eggs, putting them into a bag to relocate the precious bundle to a second nest, making it more difficult for poachers to find. As she deposited her eggs, she seemed to be crying. Tears ran down her eyes as if she knew this would be her last time on the beach. Wilian told us that Leatherbacks have no eye protection against the wind and sand, therefore, they secrete a saline solution to protect their eyes while on the beach.

Adrienne, released her eggs as an inconsistent mixture of both fertilized and unfertilized eggs, indicating that she was old. Wilian felt that this would be her last time on the beach, not only this season, but forever. We tagged her hind flippers, and took measurements on her carapace (top shell), which measured five feet. She rested after depositing her eggs, then used her flippers to cover the nesting area. As she filled in her nest with sand, a patrol member and myself dug a second nest to deposit her eggs. We layered the eggs exactly as they had been deposited, then packed the nest. Adrienne did a good job disguising her nest, but it would still be easy for poachers to determine her nest site. Poachers use metal sticks to find the soft sand pockets where eggs may be located.

Adrienne, released her eggs as an inconsistent mixture of both fertilized and unfertilized eggs, indicating that she was old. Wilian felt that this would be her last time on the beach, not only this season, but forever. We tagged her hind flippers, and took measurements on her carapace (top shell), which measured five feet. She rested after depositing her eggs, then used her flippers to cover the nesting area. As she filled in her nest with sand, a patrol member and myself dug a second nest to deposit her eggs. We layered the eggs exactly as they had been deposited, then packed the nest. Adrienne did a good job disguising her nest, but it would still be easy for poachers to determine her nest site. Poachers use metal sticks to find the soft sand pockets where eggs may be located.