#leatherbacktrust

A few weeks ago, we had National Geographic and a Costa Rican Newspaper crew, Marvida visit our station to do a segment on the leatherback nesting and sea turtle research here in Playa Grande. Although it is best for hatchlings to be released at night due to decreased predatory pressures, the exception to release them at sunset was made for the camera crew. In this video, you can see olive ridley hatchlings (the smaller ones with jagged shells) and a few leatherback hatchlings (larger with long thin front flippers) heading out to sea. The leatherback is taking the lead and is the one closest to the ocean. These hatchlings were found in the nests that we excavated during the day. Keep a look out for this leatherback segment from National Georgraphic!

Two days ago, I was very fortunate to be able to participate in an aerial survey of the beaches north of Playa Grande. It was a great plane ride in a small four-seater plane and although it was very turbulent (I puked a few times...) but it was worth the trip! Our pilot, Chuck let us remove the doors from the cabin so we could get a clear view of the beaches below us. We could see the turtle tracks from the night before dark in the white sand and I was amazed by how distinct the silhouettes of rays, sharks, dolphins and turtles were in the crystal clear water.