Wow, October was quite an exciting month!
We rescued 317 nests containing 28,982 eggs. The reason we are so excited about this is….2 of these nests, containing 187 eggs were LEATHERBACK. The Pacific Leatherback population, our Leatherbacks, are most at risk for extinction of all sea turtle populations. Finding these 2 nests so early in the season has us beyond happy! Spoiler alert….we have already had one more in November that is possibly our 1st mama returning (seeking an adopter!). This species of Sea Turtle can nest 7 to 11 times in one season, 8 to 12 days apart.
Our little beach here is the talk of the turtle world! We are so very thankful to be part of this.
We encountered and tagged both nesting Leatherbacks, which is a great help to scientific community! We also tagged 47 Olive Ridley’s and saw 5 more that we had previously tagged. Four of these ladies were tagged this season, while one was tagged last year.
Now the other statistics…which are not as exciting….
We lost 47 nests and 6 nesting mama’s to human poachers. Losing the 6 adult females, as you know, is really troubling to us. And the increase in the occurrence of stolen turtles really has us concerned. 🙁
We lost 8 nests and 0 nesting mama’s to dogs this month.
While not losing any nesting females to dogs is very good news, the humans more than made up for it.
In other camp news, our work horse ATV has had more than the usual maintenance problems. Since we are doing 2 patrols each night, this isn’t totally unexpected, but these costly repairs during a season with activities limited by Covid is becoming a problem.
Early in the month this happened, yikes.
Then later in the month, one of the wheels was wobbly due to a broken Axle. Another unexpected expense.
We sure could use some help, with these expenses….hint, hint 😉
Best Picture of the month again goes to Felipe!
It might not be the clearest picture, but it is still my absolute favorite! At the far left is our founder Damaris Marin Smith greeting her first Leatherback turtle. She has been doing this since 2011, but has not (until now) had the opportunity to meet one in person. This nest was close to camp, so she was still on the beach when Damaris, with additional volunteers, arrived to help with the nest. The smile on her face says it all!
THIS is what makes everything we do worth it! Thank you for supporting our efforts.
