Marine Turtles of Costa Rica
Green Sea Turtles, leatherback, and Hawksbill turtles nest on the beaches here. The nesting season is loosely from late June and can go into October. At night escorted by your turtle guide, you will walk the beaches in search of a mother laying her eggs. No lights are permitted except for the guides red pen light.
Pacific Green: The Pacific Green turtle is a large animal whose carapace may reach a length of four and a half feet and a weight of 750 lbs. The “Tortuga Negra” as known locally in Costa Rica, is smaller than the Atlantic specimens. The Pacific Green feeds on sea grasses, mangrove roots and invertebrates. Fifteen beaches in Costa Rica have been identified as nesting sites, but the most important beaches are Playa Huevos and Playa Cabuyal in the Golfo de Papagayo. Female turtles prefer the dunes for laying eggs and they can get easily disturbed by the noise and light. Pacific Green Turtles population has been decreasing in the last years but due to extreme measures of protection the population appears stable now.
Leatherback Turtle: The Leatherback turtle is the largest sea turtle in the world. It can reach nine feet and a weight of 1,900 pounds. The Leatherback turtle doesn’t have a hard shell like other turtles but has a firm, pliable, thick, leather shell. The shell is either black or dark gray with white spots. The Leatherback turtle’s diet consists of jellyfish and other gelatinous organisms. The nesting period is between October and February on the Pacific coast between Guanacaste and the Osa peninsula. The Leatherback may nest approximately four times a season, laying between 50 and 80 eggs. Female turtles may lay up to four times a season and the incubation period takes about 60 days. The population of Leatherbacks has diminished drastically in the last 10 years due to poaching nests and ocean contamination with clear plastic products.
Hawksbill Turtle: The Hawksbill turtle is relatively small with two and a half feet carapace and a weight of up to 130 lbs. The carapace differs from other turtles in the scoots which are thicker and overlap. The head is elongated terminating in a sharp bony beak. The Hawksbill turtle’s diet consists of marine sponges. The female turtle prefers small beaches surrounded by rocky outcrops for laying eggs. Hawksbill turtles can be observed near coral reefs such as those near Golfo de Papagayo, Cabo Blanco and Isla del Cano. The Hawksbill is the most threatened of the species due to the high price of its shell. The sale of this product is prohibited in Costa Rica and around the world.
Olive Ridley: The Olive Ridley is the smallest of the species with a carapace length of two and two and a half feet and a weight of 75 – 85 lbs. The color is mostly dark olive green to black. The Olive Ridley’s diet consists of shrimp, crustaceans and other marine invertebrates. Even though turtle nests can be found all over Pacific coast beaches, the most important nesting beach is Ostional located in the Ostional National Wildlife Refuge. After nesting, Olive Ridley turtles migrate to deeper waters while staying relatively close to coast and spending a large portion of their time on the surface. The turtle is mainly threatened by incidental capture in shrimp nets on the long lines off the coast and the illegal poaching of the eggs.