Friends at the Rainsong Wildlife Sanctuary were nice enough to send me a run down on their Sea Turtle Protection Project. Before deciding on a sea turtle conservation non-profit to support, it’s important for would-be volunteers to check out both sides of the coin (both coasts!!). Often, when the nesting season is reaching its end for a specific species of turtle on the Pacific side, the Caribbean season is just picking up. Here’s what Rainsong has to say about Pacific Ocean sea turtle populations and its project at Manzanillo on the southern end of the Nicoya Peninsula:

click on image to enlarge

Leatherback

IN DANGER OF EXTINCTION
•Only 3,000 left in the Pacific Ocean
•Nest on various beaches in Costa Rica
•A few still nest on Playa Manzanillo

                      Hawksbill                       

IN CRITICAL DANGER OF EXTINCTION
•80% global population reduction
•Remnant population feeding in the offshore reefs of Playa Manzanillo
•Live near shore, not in deep water

Olive Ridley

ENDANGERED
•2 key nesting beaches in Costa Rica
•Ostional: population stabilized with community protection
•Nancite: 97% population reduction due to lack of protection

Serious Threats to Sea Turtles
-Nest robbing for sale and consumption of eggs – ILLEGAL
-Poaching turtles for sale and consumption of flesh – ILLEGAL
-Poaching turtles for the sale of their shells – ILLEGAL
-Careless long lining and gillnetting victimizing turtles – ILLEGAL
-Boats propellers: cutting, disfiguring, and even killing sea turtles
-Garbage pollution: many leatherbacks die after ingesting plastic bags they have mistaken for their prey (jellyfish)
-Loss of habitat due to tourist development on nesting beaches
 

Rainsong’s Sea Turtle Protection Project
-Community outreach to educate the public
-Night patrols on Playa Manzanillo
-Encourage a negative attitude toward poaching
-Empower communities to begin protection efforts
-Scholarships for elementary and high school students participating in Rainsong’s sea turtle project

Rainsong Wildlife Sanctuary