Dr. Archie
Carr was a man with a vision to save the green turtle from extinction.
One of his greatest achievements was helping to establish Tortuguero National
Park in Costa Rica.
Tortuguero
is the largest green turtle nesting site in the Caribbean. The Caribbean
Conservation Corps (CCC), a turtle research center founded by Dr Carr in
1959, has been documenting the number of turtles nesting in Tortuguero
for the last 40 years. Tortuguero National Park is located on the northern
Atlantic coast of Costa Rica and covers an area of 7,670 acres. The park
and its native inhabitants depend on tourism for their economic survival.
They need tourism dollars to fight the never-ending battle to protect the
park from cattle ranchers, loggers, banana plantations, squatters, and
poachers.
The green
turtle nesting season is from July to October. The CCC has recorded 1,700
green turtle nests in a single night. Unfortunately, a large percentage
of these eggs and the turtles themselves are illegally harvested mostly
for resale to bars and restaurants in Limon and San Jose. In the bars the
eggs are put into shotglasses and swilled raw; the belief being that it
stimulates the libido. The restaurants in Limon prepare the turtle
meat in many traditional ways, turtle meat being a favorite food among
the native population. Many native families that depend upon the sea for
their food have traditionally harvested the turtles. Even though law prohibits
the sale of turtle meat and eggs, the demand continues.
As you can
see, the CCC and Tortuguero National Park are under a great deal of pressure
to insure the conservation of the green turtle and the delicate ecosystems
that make up the park. In addition to green turtles, leatherback, hawksbill,
and loggerhead turtles also nest at Tortuguero. The park has trained local
guides to give night tours of nesting turtles to small groups of eco-tourists.
The guides
are very careful not to disturb the turtles.
My guide,
Ernesto, was very informative. Before our walk he gave our group of seven
a history of the green turtle at Tortuguero. According to local lore, the
turtles find their way back to Tortuguero by using Tortuguero Mountain
as a beacon. The mountain looks strangely out of place in the otherwise
flat expanse of tropical humid forest. The mountain, which resembles a
giant turtle, has a nice trail to the top and offers splendid views of
the ocean, canals, and surrounding forest.
Local history
also says that when Christopher Columbus arrived in Costa Rica in 1502
and anchored near Tortuguero, he recorded that there were so many turtles
that you could “ walk to shore on their backs.” I’m sure that
would have proven difficult, but it gives an accurate description to compare
before and after scenarios. According to my guide the first colonists of
this area were turtle hunters who followed the turtles up from Panama.
As the demand
for turtle products increased worldwide in the early 20th century, turtle
processing ships began to appear along the shoreline. The ships would fill
their holds with live turtles turned on their backs and would process the
turtles while on route to Europe or the United States. By the 1950’s,
the green turtle faced extinction. Since it takes green turtles many
years to mature to reproductive age, the results of massive harvesting
are clearly evident to this day.
After relating
this history to our group, Ernesto took us to find a nesting green turtle.
He walked ahead of us so as not to disturb any turtle, and perhaps cause
her to turn back and deposit her eggs at sea. We weren’t allowed to carry
any flashlights or flashcameras that might distress the turtles. When he
finally spotted one, he asked us to stay put and he would inform us of
her progress.
We waited for
about 45 minutes while Ernesto monitored her site selection and digging
progress. When she began to deposit her eggs, Ernesto called us over to
watch. My first impression was of her enormous size. This was a leviathan
of turtles! By the light of Ernesto’s filtered flashlight, I saw one of
the most ancient and otherworldly creatures on earth.
We watched
as this massive turtle deposited at least 100 eggs. Then Ernesto
shone his light on her head. The corners of her eyes had streaks of sand
that gave the appearance of tears. In my mind it was as though she was
lamenting the ruthless destruction of her species.
The only access
to Tortuguero is by boat or by plane. In the 40’s and 50’s, many
small canals were dug by logging interests to connect the inland lagoons
and rivers. Today the canal’s main use is the transportation of tourists
to and from the port of Moin to Tortuguero. However, you can still
see freshly cut rainforest hardwoods hidden in the shadows of the vine-shrouded
banks of the rivers, anticipating a twilight trip to a waiting logging
truck.
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