Protecting turtle eggs in Costa Rica
By Vanessa McQuarrie

When Toni Hazel arrived in her destination of Cahuita, Costa Rica, she wondered what she'd gotten herself into. "We were about three or four kilometres from the nearest road," she explained. "There was no refrigeration, only generated electricity at night, no hot water." Then there were highly venomous snakes … oh, dear!

Toni and her fellow volunteers from Japan, Switzerland, Germany and the USA had been warned not to have any expectations about the accommodation and conditions in Cahuita when they signed up to protect nesting turtles from poachers. After the initial shock, the group adapted very quickly. "You forget how much we take for granted with comfort levels here [at home]", she added.

The group was staying in a national park with the park rangers and potentially an unknown number of poachers. The main task was to patrol the beach at night when female sea turtles emerged from the water to lay eggs in the sand.

Toni's visit to the project coincided with the laying season of the Baula turtles – the giant Baula turtles are an endangered species commonly known as loggerheads. "They are absolutely huge … you really don't know how huge until you get up close and personal with them. They really are prehistoric. And they're not the prettiest turtles!"

The Baula nest every other year up to ten times a season. They have incredibly acute senses when they are nesting, so the volunteers couldn't wear light clothing, perfume, mosquito repellent or anything that might alert the animals.

When the volunteers came across a turtle, they left it alone until it had found a nesting spot and was preparing to nest. Then one volunteer would approach but, always accompanied by a research assistant. "When they are nesting, they're in a hypnotic, trance-like state so it's okay to approach stealthily."

When the turtle was about to start laying, the volunteer would lie on the sand and manoeuvre a heavy bag underneath her to catch her eggs. Mature turtles can lay up to 140 eggs at a time, so the bag would get pretty heavy!

While she was laying, the turtle would be checked for tags, markings, microchips and injuries, and the data would be recorded. The Baula are homing turtles which can travel as far away as Europe but will return to the same stretch of coast to nest. The research team at Cahuita kept data on how long each turtle was away from Costa Rica.

When possible, the eggs were taken to a nearby hatchery for safekeeping. If the nest was far from the hatchery, the eggs were transplanted instead to the edge of the forest to ensure they weren't washed away by the tide. During the day, the volunteers checked on nests that were ready to hatch. They also exhumed nests after the 'due date' to check how many eggs had hatched.

Many eggs don't hatch. Some simply don't mature, others have infections or are eaten by crabs. About 60-80% of eggs in the nests did hatch, "but you can never prove how many newborns made it to the sea," Toni says.

Although the survival rate was good, poaching continued. "Unfortunately, we would get to nests that were past their sell date, dig them up and find absolutely no eggs there at all."

These magnificent giant marine creatures are endangered because of poaching. "Nearly every part of the turtle can be used for monetary gain starting with the eggs themselves", she said.

The poachers have relied on the turtles as a source of income for a long time and see nothing wrong with selling their eggs despite the recent laws prohibiting the practice. Toni was encouraged to learn that local conservation groups are educating the community about poaching, and promoting alternative means of employment. "With an increase in ecotourism in Costa Rica, they've been able to employ them in local building initiatives. It's a very long process but they are winning the battle."

Toni, who is in her thirties and lives in Sydney, describes her Costa Rican volunteering trip as incredible. "I got a lot out of it – more than I anticipated", she said.

"Costa Rica is absolutely stunning," she said. "It's in an area that's surrounded by hostility and trauma, and it's maintained a pretty peaceful existence, and they have a forward thinking attitude to environmental issues."

"It was just awesome, there in the middle of the night, lying down on the sand in the pristine landscape. There was total silence – just you and the stars. How many people get to do that? It takes your breath away. I would recommend it to anybody."

Toni volunteered for three weeks through Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA), a non-profit organisation with offices across the country. CVA's mission is "to attract and manage a force of volunteers in practical conservation projects for the betterment of the Australian environment". As well, CVA organises international volunteering opportunities.

Find out more about Conservation Volunteers Australia's Costa Rica project.

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