Wildlife Conservation Costa Rica Project #42828

Improve conditions for our sea turtle heroes

by Asociacion Latin American Sea Turtles - LAST

Improve conditions for our sea turtle heroes

Project Report | Feb 16, 2023
2023 season on the horizon

By Nicki Wheeler | Project leader

After the festivities of Christmas and New Year, our attention immediately turns to preparations for the leatherback nesting season in Pacuare.

There is much that needs to be done - recruiting Research Assistants and volunteers, painting and cleaning the living quarters, reinforcing fences and replacing any damaged posts, preparing the hatchery area etc

This year we have a new biologist taking over the scientific aspect, and we have new neighbours that have purchased the property next to the station.

Again, we must purchase new panels for solar power - the only power we have in Pacuare - which has been possible due to a generous corporate donation.

So what will 2023 bring?

Each year brings new challenges, and is completely unpredictable. We have no idea how the nesting season is affected each year by elements beyond our control. There are so many variables that affect whether we can continue to operate. for 2023 we have decided to only operate until the beginning of September, as the lack of funds and volunteers mean that our overheads are above what our income is..

This is a difficult decision, as the green turtle nesting season will be at its peak, and without protection they will be at risk.

We hope that something incredible happens before then, so we can change our plans and protect all turtles that come to Pacuare beach!

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Oct 25, 2022
Energy of Pacuare

By Nicki Wheeler | Project leader

As the 2022 season draws to an end, we have several things to reflect on..

The world has reopened after the COVID pandemic, and people are eager to travel. We are fortunate to have hosted nearly 250 volunteers and Research Assistants this year, which has not onlly enabled us to continue with the protection of sea turtle species, but has also allowed us to provide an income into the community.

However, receiving volunteers again means that we must keep the station habitable and safe. It is no secret thank due to several global factors, costs of fuel, energy, and even basic food items have increased drastically.

As an NGO this is an additional issue we must face, when calculating fees for basic services at the project, which unfortunately are passed on to our volunteers. Our source of energy at the station relies on solar panels - using natural energy is the perfect solution for us , and really our only option! However due to our location and environment is it not as easy as it seems. Many of the components of our solar panels cannot be found in Costa Rica and are shipped from USA - and unfortunately they are not immune from damage, humidity and overuse.

Thanks to GlobalGiving donations so far this year, we invested in new inverters for the solar panel - then we had the added problem of getting a technician from San Jose to travel to Pacuare for several days to install them and carry out vital maintainance on the batteries and panel. Its surprising how many technicians are not willing to travel to a remote beach for a few days!

2 days ago, we were informed by station staff that there is now a problem with the batteries - we urgently need the funds to purchase, ship, and install these - even though it is the end of the season, we still have out staff at the station.

Once again, we are appreciative of all who have previously helped, and are able to make a small donation to continue providing power at Pacuare station!

Links:

LAST - Latin American Sea Turtles

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Jul 6, 2022
commitment...

By Keithlyn Rankins | Field biologist, Pacuare station

The work at the station does not cease, although the leatherback turtles are already reaching the end of their season, we are starting the green turtle season and the births of the hatchlings that we have in the nursery, with the help of volunteers and the Research Assistants the collection of the following data has been achieved.

We take measurements from the hatchlings that are born during the night. From each nest 20 hatchlings at random are taken and we measure the length and width of the carapace three times with the aid of special Instruments. The 20 hatchlings are weighed, and once we have recorded all the information, the total of turtles from the nest are counted and are released. We always need to release harchlings in diffeent parts of the beach, so as not to create a "restaurant" for predators in the ocean. Up until July 5^th 2022 we have released 1618 hatchlings.

We have also been carrying out exhumations of the nests that already hatched. After the first group of turtles leave, we wait approximately 3 days, for any other hatchlings to emerge naturally, and then proceed to open the nest to verify the amount of hatchlings that came out and for the final analysis of the nest (no hatched eggs open and the development stage is determined).

In one of the exhumed nests, dead twin turtles were found (they did not end their development), pitifully they were not successful but this information is used to understand more about the behavior of the population.

We have filled the hatchery this year, but we still have left 53 nests left to hatch, of which 49 are from the leatherback turtle, 1 of hawksbill turtle and 3 of green turtle. We monitor the nests 24hrs per day with the help of volunteers, so that each one can be released safely into the ocean

thats commitment.....

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