A Costa Rica tagging project recently got underway at Cocos Island involving its green sea turtle and hawksbill visitors.
Conservation organizations and marine researchers spent some 30 hours sailing to the island in their pursuit to discover migration habits of these ancient marine animals.
Think of what they do as a kind of working Costa Rica vacation that, hopefully, will contribute to saving these marvelous marine reptiles now sadly endangered in much of their range.
Cocos Island was described by the world famous explorer, Jacque Cousteau, as the most beautiful island he had ever encountered. The small island, only about nine square miles in size, lies some 340 miles off the Pacific shoreline of Costa Rica, nearly halfway to the Galapagos Islands.
It is unlikely that it was the tropical coconut palms or beaches that enthralled the Captain. Its beauty is found nearby, just off its shores, under water. Costa Ricans have chosen it as one of the Seven Wonders of Costa Rica because in these waters one finds priceless treasure: tremendous numbers and varieties of fish, whales, porpoises, and turtles.
Marine turtles have swum the world's oceans since the age of dinosaurs. Imagine mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex preying on them 200 million years ago when they came ashore to lay their eggs on the beaches.
The mighty Tyrannosaurus preyed on them more than 200 million years ago as they landed ashore to lay their eggs on ancient beaches.
Once, the populations of sea turtles were so massive that mariners who were lost in the fog, sometimes found land by listening for the sounds of sea turtles paddling towards nesting grounds.
Sad to say, those numbers are no more. Today, man's unrestrained coastline development and wanton plundering of their nests have put them at risk. For many years, millions have been in South America to make stylish Italian combs, and expensive shoes.
Captain Cousteau once famously said: "If we go on the way we have, the fault is our greed and if we are not willing to change, we will disappear from the face of the globe, to be replaced by the insect."
But, world conservation organizations are working to restore at least some turtle populations. Conservation groups and scientists have begun tagging pelagic turtles like the green sea turtle in remote places like Cocos Island. Some turtles are fitted with satellite transmitters while others bear flipper tags in an effort to track their movements and we now know that some species roam across thousands and thousands of miles of oceans, from tropical waters to the deep waters off Newfoundland, Canada.
We cannot undo the past but the people who tag sea turtles know that the future for sea turtles is yet to be inscribed.
Conservation organizations and marine researchers spent some 30 hours sailing to the island in their pursuit to discover migration habits of these ancient marine animals.
Think of what they do as a kind of working Costa Rica vacation that, hopefully, will contribute to saving these marvelous marine reptiles now sadly endangered in much of their range.
Cocos Island was described by the world famous explorer, Jacque Cousteau, as the most beautiful island he had ever encountered. The small island, only about nine square miles in size, lies some 340 miles off the Pacific shoreline of Costa Rica, nearly halfway to the Galapagos Islands.
It is unlikely that it was the tropical coconut palms or beaches that enthralled the Captain. Its beauty is found nearby, just off its shores, under water. Costa Ricans have chosen it as one of the Seven Wonders of Costa Rica because in these waters one finds priceless treasure: tremendous numbers and varieties of fish, whales, porpoises, and turtles.
Marine turtles have swum the world's oceans since the age of dinosaurs. Imagine mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex preying on them 200 million years ago when they came ashore to lay their eggs on the beaches.
The mighty Tyrannosaurus preyed on them more than 200 million years ago as they landed ashore to lay their eggs on ancient beaches.
Once, the populations of sea turtles were so massive that mariners who were lost in the fog, sometimes found land by listening for the sounds of sea turtles paddling towards nesting grounds.
Sad to say, those numbers are no more. Today, man's unrestrained coastline development and wanton plundering of their nests have put them at risk. For many years, millions have been in South America to make stylish Italian combs, and expensive shoes.
Captain Cousteau once famously said: "If we go on the way we have, the fault is our greed and if we are not willing to change, we will disappear from the face of the globe, to be replaced by the insect."
But, world conservation organizations are working to restore at least some turtle populations. Conservation groups and scientists have begun tagging pelagic turtles like the green sea turtle in remote places like Cocos Island. Some turtles are fitted with satellite transmitters while others bear flipper tags in an effort to track their movements and we now know that some species roam across thousands and thousands of miles of oceans, from tropical waters to the deep waters off Newfoundland, Canada.
We cannot undo the past but the people who tag sea turtles know that the future for sea turtles is yet to be inscribed.
About the Author:
Victor Krumm lives in tropical Costa Rica. Please visit his popular site Costa Rica Vacations or check out one of Costa Rica's Seven Wonders Cocos Island
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