Leatherbacks!!

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My nighttime turtle watch last night could not be matched! I went out with a young biologist, Jacob, whom I like to call the “Turtle Whisperer.”  Not too long after we started, we got word from the neighboring group that a leatherback nest had hatched, and the hatchlings were headed for the ocean. We hustled over to see this. The extra effort was worth it; hatchlings never cease to be adorable. Being that they are only about 1-2 inches, they are all flipper. And, they are literally bite size. One can see how easy a target for predators they are. Scientists approximate that only 1 in 1000 hatchlings makes it to a full, mature leatherback.

Shortly thereafter on our patrol, we stumbled upon an olive ridley nest that hatched. We noted it, and kept moving. After another hour, we got word from the park ranger on the walkie-talkie that a leatherback had made it to the beach.  Finally!

My heart thumped extra hard as we raced to her location. The park ranger and a large group of tourists were already at the scene. Jacob and I waded through the tourist mob, and he assessed that she was digging her egg chamber. He handed me the egg clicker and the thermal wire, and he instructed me to lie behind her. I lay on my stomach, directly behind her back flippers and watched in awe as she dug. Up close, I could see how incredibly powerful her flippers were, as she gracefully placed one hind flipper in the hole and scooped up the sand to dig deeper. Then, she rhythmically placed the alternate flipper in the hole and did the same thing. After the hole was deep enough, she placed her left hind flipper over the hole. This was my cue that she was about to nest. I moved the flipper to the side and waited. 

 

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Suddenly, 1-2-3, the eggs started coming! I concentrated and clicked as I counted these billiard size balls. The swarms of tourists stepped on me as they struggled to see what I had a front row view of. I placed the thermal wire for later temperature readings in the nest. 20-21-22, eggs counted. Jacob methodically and professionally performed his duties: he scanned her tag and confirmed she was a returning turtle; he measured her; he noted any scars; and he documented her location. 46-47-48, I kept clicking. I worried I was bothering her during this process, but Jacob assured me leatherbacks go into a “trance” when they lay eggs and she is not even aware of us. 63-64-65. My hand shook from holding back the flipper. Then, suddenly the eggs stopped dropping. We stepped back, and she began filling in the hole with sand. Incredible!

We left the beach as she was finishing her nest to make sure we didn’t miss any more turtles. Not more than a few hundred yards, we found more leatherback tracks! Another had come to shore, and she was already laying her eggs! We rushed to get measurements and placed a wire in the nest. Success!

At approximately 2:00 a.m., we found another leatherback and performed the same process. This time I was much more comfortable with the giant on the sand, and I knew what to do. A third leatherback on one night! I truly felt the brilliant stars in the sky were aligned for me!

We wrapped up the data collection and headed home. Arriving back to the field station at 3:00 a.m. made this my latest night yet, but also the most memorable!