You may witness the Leatherback Turtle's nesting ritual right here at The Sanctuary Resort Beach.
Leatherbacks, the earth's most ancient and largest living reptile, are one of the most endangered of all sea turtles. They have witnessed the fall of the dinosaurs and the rise of humanity.
The province of Guanacaste is the typical area that the giant leatherback turtles come to lay their eggs. Las Baulas National Marine Park is a protected area where a community project funded by the World Wildlife Fund, which includes Playa Junquillal. Gabriel Francia, an Argentine biologist, is the director of the project that educated the locals on the importance of the turtles. The beaches are patrolled by locals who seek to protect the turtle eggs from dogs, poachers, and other predators.
In the past two years since the program began, turtle poaching has dropped from 100% to only 15%.
Every night from December to February, one of the most amazing natural history tours in Costa Rica is available on the Guanacaste coast. This unforgettable adventure allows you to wittness the nesting ritual of one of the largest reptiles on Earth: the Leatherback Sea Turtle (Demochelys coriacea).
The Leatherback Turtles in the Pacific Ocean are on the brink of extinction. In the past 20 years their numbers have drastically dropped 90%. But the scientists in the region hope that these early nesters are signs of hope and an increased number of turtles this year.
