It is almost unfathomable that olive ridley sea turtles are in danger. After all, they have been around a very long time, more than 100,000,000 years.
To put some perspective onto this number, imagine the mighty T Rex. It roamed the North America continent sixty-five million years ago and, as surely as night follows day, it feasted on olive ridleys when they came ashore to nest.
These ancient animals have flourished for unimaginable eons, despite being prey for nearly everything under the sun for tens of millions of generations. Indeed, probably thirty million generations of marine turtles were preyed upon by reptiles and other dinosaurs and creatures in the oceans before the first Tyrannosaurus Rex walked the earth and, since then, another 70,000,000 generations have suffered the same fate. Still, they flourished.
They even survived the greatest extinction the earth has suffered. Indeed though all of the mighty dinosaurs perished---they lived and flourished.
They spread, over eons, across the face of the planet, until these most ancient of mariners populated every temperate and tropical ocean. They were common from the Americas east to the Arabian Sea and from the Pacific coast of the New World to India. Tens upon tens of millions, and maybe even more, of olive ridleys.
In 1951, the same year that Americans began to watch "I Love Lucy," the seas were full of olive ridley turtles. Mexico's Pacific coast alone hosted 10,000,000 olive ridley nests when the first episode of that TV show aired and every nest had about 100 eggs per clutch. That is about a billion eggs. A billion eggs laid along just one coast of Mexico in just one year. And, remember, these sea turtles were found virtually everywhere in warm or temperate waters. The numbers were limitless.
Of course, where there is a limitless resource, there is profit to be had. With so many eggs that were so easily gathered and so much profit to be made, unconstrained capitalists put together massive pack trains of horses and mules and brought them to the beaches. These pack animals carried off hundreds of millions of eggs each nesting season, year-after-year. And, to the surprise of some, it came as a shock that within about 20 years or so, there was but one nest in one year on a beach where there had been several hundred thousand when Desi, Lucy, Ethel, and Fred made us laugh the first time. Alas, this catastrophe was being replicated all across the world.
Meanwhile, several countries around the world, opened sea turtle fisheries. The female turtles, in particular, were easily caught because they gathered in huge numbers close to shore before coming to the ancient beaches to nest.
In only a few short years a single generation of one species nearly accomplished what had seemed impossible. From limitless to endangered while most of us watched television.
However, as more and more countries belatedly realized the extent of depredation, some have begun taking steps to conserve and protect these turtles. Little Costa Rica has created important wildlife reserves and worked with dedicated conservationists and the local people of Costa Rica to rebuild stocks.
Costa Rica's Ostional Beach is set aside as a turtle nesting refuge on its Pacific coast. It is said to have the world's largest mass nestings, called arridabas of olive ridley sea turtles. These take place each month, typically when the moon is in its last quarter phase. Female turtles gather offshore for days and sometimes even weeks, then suddenly come to the small beach en mass, a couple of hundred every hour for several days and nights. Though arribadas occur year-round, you will experience Costa Rica eco tourism at its best if you visit during the rainy season from October, November, and December. The biggest arribada in recent years was half a million females came ashore to nest in 1995.
Today, Costa Rica recognizes that these creatures are worth more alive than dead. And, remember that Mexican beach that was reduced to a single nest? Well, the government finally protected it and it recovered to 50,000 nests in 1988---and more than 1,000,000 in 2000.
With a little help from Nature and mankind, the olive ridley will have another 100,000,000 years. - 29958
To put some perspective onto this number, imagine the mighty T Rex. It roamed the North America continent sixty-five million years ago and, as surely as night follows day, it feasted on olive ridleys when they came ashore to nest.
These ancient animals have flourished for unimaginable eons, despite being prey for nearly everything under the sun for tens of millions of generations. Indeed, probably thirty million generations of marine turtles were preyed upon by reptiles and other dinosaurs and creatures in the oceans before the first Tyrannosaurus Rex walked the earth and, since then, another 70,000,000 generations have suffered the same fate. Still, they flourished.
They even survived the greatest extinction the earth has suffered. Indeed though all of the mighty dinosaurs perished---they lived and flourished.
They spread, over eons, across the face of the planet, until these most ancient of mariners populated every temperate and tropical ocean. They were common from the Americas east to the Arabian Sea and from the Pacific coast of the New World to India. Tens upon tens of millions, and maybe even more, of olive ridleys.
In 1951, the same year that Americans began to watch "I Love Lucy," the seas were full of olive ridley turtles. Mexico's Pacific coast alone hosted 10,000,000 olive ridley nests when the first episode of that TV show aired and every nest had about 100 eggs per clutch. That is about a billion eggs. A billion eggs laid along just one coast of Mexico in just one year. And, remember, these sea turtles were found virtually everywhere in warm or temperate waters. The numbers were limitless.
Of course, where there is a limitless resource, there is profit to be had. With so many eggs that were so easily gathered and so much profit to be made, unconstrained capitalists put together massive pack trains of horses and mules and brought them to the beaches. These pack animals carried off hundreds of millions of eggs each nesting season, year-after-year. And, to the surprise of some, it came as a shock that within about 20 years or so, there was but one nest in one year on a beach where there had been several hundred thousand when Desi, Lucy, Ethel, and Fred made us laugh the first time. Alas, this catastrophe was being replicated all across the world.
Meanwhile, several countries around the world, opened sea turtle fisheries. The female turtles, in particular, were easily caught because they gathered in huge numbers close to shore before coming to the ancient beaches to nest.
In only a few short years a single generation of one species nearly accomplished what had seemed impossible. From limitless to endangered while most of us watched television.
However, as more and more countries belatedly realized the extent of depredation, some have begun taking steps to conserve and protect these turtles. Little Costa Rica has created important wildlife reserves and worked with dedicated conservationists and the local people of Costa Rica to rebuild stocks.
Costa Rica's Ostional Beach is set aside as a turtle nesting refuge on its Pacific coast. It is said to have the world's largest mass nestings, called arridabas of olive ridley sea turtles. These take place each month, typically when the moon is in its last quarter phase. Female turtles gather offshore for days and sometimes even weeks, then suddenly come to the small beach en mass, a couple of hundred every hour for several days and nights. Though arribadas occur year-round, you will experience Costa Rica eco tourism at its best if you visit during the rainy season from October, November, and December. The biggest arribada in recent years was half a million females came ashore to nest in 1995.
Today, Costa Rica recognizes that these creatures are worth more alive than dead. And, remember that Mexican beach that was reduced to a single nest? Well, the government finally protected it and it recovered to 50,000 nests in 1988---and more than 1,000,000 in 2000.
With a little help from Nature and mankind, the olive ridley will have another 100,000,000 years. - 29958
About the Author:
Vic Krumm writes about stunning Costa Rica in his acclaimed Costa Rica Vacations site. Wondering what to do if you vacation in Costa Rica?Start here for Things to Do In Costa Rica
