Marino Las Baulas National Park
Created in 1990 to protect Leatherback turtles from profit-making egg poachers, Marino las Baulas National Park is one of the foremost nesting sites for the leatherback turtle. The park protects 1,100 acres (445 hectares) of swampy mangrove coastline as well as 54,000 acres (21,850 hectares) of inland forest.
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Incredible white-sand beaches separate the park's protected seas from its vibrant forests that are home to 174 species of birds as well as countless other animal species. Mangroves and estuaries are plentiful, packed with a biodiversity known to few places outside of Costa Rica.
On Grande Beach (Playa Grande), female leatherback turtles come ashore to lay their eggs from October to May-an incredible spectacle to behold if you are lucky enough to see it. Guides are available for hire for those interested in this rare, but unforgettable opportunity.
Leatherback turtles are not only the world's largest turtle, but its largest reptile, which can weigh up to 2,000 pounds (900kg)! For all of their weight, these reptilian behemoths ironically have a pin-prick brain that weighs in at a measly 28 grams. Leatherbacks wander the open seas in search of their favorite food, jelly fish, which they will dive to a depth of 4,000 feet (1,220 m) to pursue. Unlike other species of turtle that have external carapaces, the leatherback has a tough leathery skin and internal skeleton.
Marino las Baulas National Park is just due north from Tamarindo. Driving to the park is best done in a four-wheel drive vehicle, as the road north of Grande Beach is rather rough and unpaved. An alternative to this route is by ferry across the Straight of Tamarindo. The process of making a reservation to see the Giant Sea Turtles is a little different than a normal tour and guide experience. Basically you can reserve a place on the list no more than 8 days in advance of the tour date by calling the Marino Las Baulas Station at 2653-0470 or from the U.S. it is 011 2506 653-0470. You must give them your complete name and passport number in order to be be put on the list. On the day of the tour you must arrive at the station of Marino Baulas at Sundown to pay for your ticket about $15 per person and be assigned in a group.
If there is a healthy nesting Turtle found by the biologists they will allow 1 group to come and view the process for about 15 minutes. Sometimes people must wait hours until a turtle arrives on the beach other times there are enough turtles for everyone to get a chance to view the nesting process. In some cases no turtles arrive at all. The Leatherback Turtle nests on Playa Grande from October to March but their numbers are drastically declining and in 2008 only 32 Leatherbacks came to nest on the beach.
Wildlife Sightings
Spotted at Marino Las Baulas National Park
Sloths
White-faced capuchin monkey
Humpback whale
Sea turtles
Resplendent quetzal
Jaguar
Scarlet macaw
Keel-billed toucan
Red-eyed tree frog
Blue jeans frog
Howler monkey
Squirrel monkey
Baird's tapir
Agouti
Coati
American crocodile
Green iguana
Fer-de-lance
Bullet ant
Magnificent frigatebird
Leatherback Turtle
Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea). Spanish name: Baula
Habitat
This turtle spends most of its life in deeper waters, coming ashore sandy beaches to nest.
Range
The leatherback is a master of migration and can be found across tropical and subtropical seas. A stray individual is occasionally found as far north as Alaska and as far south as Argentina or New Zealand. While nesting, however, the turtle is restricted to tropical beaches.
Physical Description
The leatherback is the largest of living turtles and one of the largest reptiles in the world. Its limbs are adapted to function well as paddles, and its head can partially retract into the shell. This turtle is distinct because it has a leathery shell with deep ridges. It does not have the strong epidermal shield that other turtles have, so the carapace and plastron are protected by a softer skin covering. This is the only marine turtle that lacks claws and large epidermal scutes over the shell. The upper surface is usually dark brown or black, occasionally with pale spots on the sides, throat, and neck. The underside of the body is mostly pale pink and white. Females may have a pink area on top of the head; hatchlings may be a bluish black with white along the edges.
Biology and Natural History
The leatherback is a great wanderer and sometimes a single individual can be found quite far from the normal nesting migration. While it may seem tranquil, this turtle can be quite dangerous when bothered by using its flippers, jaws, and weight to fight back.
The leatherback is built well for surviving the range of oceans it navigates. In deep or cold waters it can maintain a reasonable body temperature thanks to its large size and thick layers of fat and carapace. It can still swim because its circulation operates with a counter current heat exchange which helps pull blood away from the flippers and keep the rest of the body warm. It is also able to swim underwater for three hours on anaerobic respiration, and its brain can operate without oxygen for periods of diving.
An adult female will come up to sandy beaches to lay her eggs in a deep nest that she digs with her front flippers. She lays 45 to 100 eggs, fills in the pit and conceals the nest. She performs all of this at night, returning to the ocean before light. The sex of the new turtles is determined by temperature (TSD). When they are ready, the hatchlings dig their way to the surface of the beach and head immediately for the ocean. Not much is known about the behavior of this great reptile while they grow from hatchling to adult. Adults travel far between feeding and nesting grounds. They mate in the water before the females move towards the sand to start the next generation.
Leatherback eggs are attacked by mammals (especially pigs and dogs), birds, and crabs; humans also poach the eggs which impacts the Leatherback's population. Their numbers have fallen to almost one-fifth of what they were in 1980. Hatchlings and juveniles are eaten by large fishes and sharks, but once the turtles reach adult size they have no predators besides humans.
The leatherback is a critically endangered species. It is protected by international policies and illegal to hunt. Read about Sea Turtles: Promises and Threats to learn more about the challenges facing this animal.
Diet
The leatherback has a weak beak, so it mostly eats jellyfish and some other oceanic invertebrates.
Height/Weight
Adults of this species can reach 1.83 m long and weigh 680 kg. Pacific Ocean leatherbacks tend to be smaller than those of the Atlantic.
Taxonomy
Order: Testudines
Family: Dermochelyidae
Sources
Henderson, Carrol L. Field Guide to the Wildlife of Costa Rica. University of Texas Press, Austin, 2002.
Leenders, Twan. A Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica. Zona Tropical, S.A, Miami, FL, 2001.
Savage, Jay M. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica: A Herpetofauna between two Continents, between Two Seas. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2002.
-Amy Strieter, Wildlife Writer