Tourists Get in the Way of Sea Turtles Laying Eggs in Costa Rica [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

Tourists Get in the Way of Sea Turtles Laying Eggs in Costa Rica
Sept. 18, 2015

Too busy taking photos and petting the reptiles to notice they were disrupting breeding


A large group of tourists disrupted sea turtles from laying their eggs on a beach in Costa Rica last weekend, according to local news sources.

Every year hundreds of sea turtles journey to a wildlife refuge in Guanacaste, Costa Rica in order to lay their eggs. This year, though, tourists were able to access the refuge because droughts have lowered water levels that usually make the area inaccessible to people.

The tourists reportedly took photos, touched the turtles and stood on their nests, forcing several to return to the ocean without laying their eggs, according to La Nacion.

Costa Rica’s Secretary of Environment is investigating why officials were unable to control the tourists.


http://time.com/4040062/tourists-costa-rica-sea-turtles/

(Short article, no more at link.)

LBN:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141210618

[center]

[/center]
Tourists Thwart Turtles from Nesting in Costa Rica
By ELISABETH MALKIN and PAULINA VILLEGAS
SEPT. 18, 2015

MEXICO CITY — The day-trippers swarmed onto the beach to watch one of nature’s most extraordinary sights, hundreds of thousands of olive ridley sea turtles crawling out of the ocean to lay their eggs in the sand.

The turtles did not want the company. Scared off by the thousands of tourists massed along Ostional Beach on Costa Rica’s Pacific Coast, snapping selfies and perching their children on the turtles’ backs, the ancient reptiles simply turned around and retreated into the sea.

“It was a mess,” said Yamileth Baltodano, a tour guide who was at the scene when the turtles were scared away two weeks ago.

What happened during the first weekend in September was a one-time event, when a confluence of factors allowed the utterly unexpected to take place. But it was a cautionary tale for the conservationists charged with protecting the turtles, which are classified as vulnerable, not to mention a social media sensation. Now Costa Rican officials are scrambling to make sure it does not happen again.

More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/19/world/americas/tourists-thwart-turtles-from-nesting-in-costa-rica.html?_r=0