The Turtles are Coming!
The time of the turtle in Costa Rica is nearly here. This year will see over 200,000 turtles coming to lay their eggs on a 200 mile stretch of Caribbean Beaches from the Southern borders with Panama to the Northern borders in Nicaragua.

For those wishing to see the turtles there is no better place than Costa Rica and this year will be as good if not better than any.

Recently scientists and conservationists have observed a dramatic drop in the number of returning nesting females to the beaches of Costa Rica, however this year due to conservation projects by Caribbean Conservation Corps here in Costa Rica we may see a larger number of females nesting.

In the past Costa Rica faced numerous problems with turtle poaching from Barra de Colorado and Limón smugglers who still steal turtle eggs on the beaches, and cull turtles from the sea.

However there has been a dramatic decline in these cases from 1,700 cases in 1997, to 50 in 1999 and finally last year below 20.

One major issue that Costa Rica has and can face is the development at an alarming pace of the beach areas. The turtles use the moon's light to guide them into the shore and also as a beacon on when it is time to come ashore.

With recent development on the Pacific and Caribbean Coasts means that there are more unnatural light sources which confuses the turtles. This leads to unnatural nesting and in the wrong areas.

The Costa Rican Government stated that it is making sure that in turtle nesting areas, development is limited or is very much overseen by the local municipalities. However with the level of corruption in local councils, many people have a hard time believing such a statement.

July - September is the time to see the Green turtles nesting with the peak being August through November. Mid-February through July is when giant leatherback turtles arrive to lay their eggs (with greatest frequency April-May), followed by female hawksbill turtles in July.

Typically the eggs incubate for 1 month and then hatch, so there are frequent sightings of the baby turtles coming from the sand and flapping for the Ocean.

Tortuguero is one of the main points of nesting on the Caribbean and is where over 50,000 people flock to in the summer months.