La Tortuga

     The primary purpose of my time in Honduras is to learn about and contribute to the work ProTECTOR (The Protective Turtle Ecology Center for Training, Outreach, and Research, Inc.) is doing in sea turtle conservation. My main goal for the four weeks I am here is to simply get acquainted with the culture, the communities, and the turtles so I will better equipped to return to Honduras in the following years for my masters work. The particular study I am helping out with this summer is looking at Olive Ridley sea turtle populations.

     As a ProTECTOR volunteer one of my primary tasks is to patrol the beach at night with Noemi and Lelyn (The other volunteer) in search of turtles. Upon finding a turtle (La Tortuga in Spanish) we will tag it (Via a small metal tag with a unique value so we can identify it in the future), measure the length and width of its carapace (The top section of a turtle's shell), take pictures of the specimen, and gather a small tissue sample for DNA for genetic analysis in the lab. After carrying out these procedures we will then wait for the turtle to nest (All the turtles we are working with a females coming to the beach to lay their eggs) and measure nest parameters and the number of eggs. The turtle will then be released to return to the sea.

     I don't know if you have ever seen a sea turtle close up, but these animals are massive. Adult females such as the ones I am working with can have carapace lengths of 60-85 cm (>2 ft), and weigh a prodigious amount (90-100). Carrying them, consequently is quite a chore. You have to pick them up by the sides of the carapace, flip them upside down and put them on your shoulder like a bag of flour, all while the animal is flapping its fins madly like one of those tin monkeys with the clanging tambourines (Think Toy Story 3 or Phantom of the Opera). Then, when you finally get them where you want them and are trying to take your measurements, you have to contend with constant squirming and efforts by the turtle to escape. One person's job (Me it usually turned out) was to simply hold the turtle to the ground (An action that is far harder than it sounds).

     So far we have found a total of four turtles since I have been here: three last night and one the night before. Last night we also had the opportunity of getting one of these turtles to nest in a nursery we created (Santiago's nursery) specifically so Noemi can do some of her experiments with the hatchlings. We are not, however, the only ones looking for the turtles. In Honduras and much of Central America turtle eggs are considered a delicacy and earnestly sought after for consumption. Consequently when we go out at night to monitor turtle populations there are generally a fair number of natives out searching for eggs; even staying up late into the night and early morning for the chance to collect the eggs (A typical clutch can be upwards of 90 eggs). If sea turtles were as prolific or adaptable as chickens or other such egg laying animal such predation would not be an issue. The sea turtle would simply keep laying more eggs and eventually enough would escape the clutches of the poacher to escape to the sea. As it is sea turtle populations as a whole are very low in Honduras due primarily to high juvenile mortality (Many animals eat turtle eggs) coupled with massive poaching throughout the country. Pollution is also a growing concern for sea turtle populations as the turtles will often choke on plastic bags or ingest broken plastic bottles. The particular species I was studying, however, is the turtle species of least concern (In the Vulnerable category) and very prolific throughout the world, meaning they are not likely to go extinct anytime soon.  

     Rather than end on that rather blah note, I will instead post a picture of the turtle we found last night to lay eggs in our hatchery. Adios!