Ostional National Wildlife Refuge
The world-famous Ostional National Wildlife Refuge starts one mile south of us. Each year, 2 to 3 million Pacific Olive Ridley sea turtles come onto the Ostional beach to nest and lay eggs. These magnificent 60-80 pound turtles live to eighty years.
The turtles come onto the beach during the last dark quarter of the monthly moon. The arrivals (or 'arribadas') typically happen for 4-6 nights. The largest arrivals are from June to January when the sand is wet and cool, but they arrive in smaller numbers in every other month too.
Vast flotillas of Olive Ridleys amass just off shore to wait when the moon and currents are just right for their turn to crawl far up on the beach, dig a 18” hole and lay about 100 eggs. The turtles often arrive in waves by the thousands, sometimes in the tens of thousands.
Their egg laying lasts about thirty minutes and then they return to the ocean after spending about one hour on land. By the time an arrival is over, 150,000 turtles can leave 15 million eggs buried deep in the sand. On the larger arrivals, as many as a half million turtles can arrive.
The turtles come onto the beach during the last dark quarter of the monthly moon. The arrivals (or 'arribadas') typically happen for 4-6 nights. The largest arrivals are from June to January when the sand is wet and cool, but they arrive in smaller numbers in every other month too.
Vast flotillas of Olive Ridleys amass just off shore to wait when the moon and currents are just right for their turn to crawl far up on the beach, dig a 18” hole and lay about 100 eggs. The turtles often arrive in waves by the thousands, sometimes in the tens of thousands.
Their egg laying lasts about thirty minutes and then they return to the ocean after spending about one hour on land. By the time an arrival is over, 150,000 turtles can leave 15 million eggs buried deep in the sand. On the larger arrivals, as many as a half million turtles can arrive.
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About 50 days later, the hatchlings climb out of the sand and rush to the sea. They face a gauntlet of sea gulls, vultures, crabs and animals that reduce their survival rate. Then, once they reach the ocean, they face more threats from birds and aquatic creatures.
The rocky Punta India at the northwest end of the turtle refuge has many tide pools with marine life such as sea anemones, sea urchins, starfish and shellfish. 190 species of birds have been identified in the Ostional Refuge, including the brown pelican, magnificent frigate bird, royal tern, cormorant, white-fronted amazon, roseate spoonbill and Sabine’s gull. The refuge also sees the arrival of the leatherback turtle, the largest sea turtle in the world, from November to January. |