Freya
On Saturday, June 13, 2009, “Freya” came ashore at Gandoca Beach to lay her eggs under the cover of darkness.
Trained scientists attached a satellite transmitter to Freya via a temporary backpack that is designed to fall off within weeks.
The satellite transmitter will allow us to track Freya’s location as she travels from the nesting beaches of the Caribbean to her cooler feeding grounds.
Leatherbacks feed mainly on jellies, and commonly travel thousands of miles from their preferred breeding and nesting areas in the Caribbean to the cool waters off the Atlantic coast—as far north as Maine!
Tracking the movements of these turtles will help researchers gain more insight into the migration and nesting patterns of female leatherbacks. The National Aquarium assisted by providing the satellite tags and satellite tracking time, and sent a staff member down to Costa Rica to assist with the tagging.
Julia
It is with a sad heart that we share the passing of Julia Kaylock, our former FROGS! A Chorus of Colors herpetologist and part-time husbandry aide for Animal Planet Australia, on June 12, 2009, due to complications from diabetes.
The National Aquarium is honoring her by naming a leatherback sea turtle “Julia”, who was satellite tagged in Costa Rica as part of a cooperative project that involves the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network.
Julia’s mother expressed the following: “I love the thought of a young turtle setting off on its life voyage with Julia in spirit—she would have been rapt too. Please convey our thanks to the turtle folk at the National Aquarium and how much we are looking forward to following little ‘Julia’ online.”
Sea Turtle Conservation Project
The National Aquarium, Asociación ANAI, and the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST) are working together to support conservation efforts of the endangered leatherback sea turtle.
Leatherback sea turtles are the world’s largest sea turtles, reaching 8 feet long and weighing as much as a small car. The Caribbean adult leatherback population currently hovers around only 25,000 individuals, approximately 1% of the 1980 population.
Asociación ANAI helped to establish the Gandoca/Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge, located in southern Costa Rica, in 1985, and since that time has partnered with WIDECAST to successfully oversee and implement the Sea Turtle Conservation Project. The aim of the program is to conserve the nesting leatherback colonies through a collaborative process that also contributes to an improvement in the quality of human life in Gandoca, Costa Rica.
Since inception of the program, the residents of Gandoca with the help of research volunteers have decreased the poaching rate within the Gandoca/Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge by more than 90%, while increasing the families’ income by more than 300% through eco-tourism.
