1. Massive theft and sale of sea turtle eggs in Costa Rica

No! Climate change is not the main reason why sea turtles struggle to survive in the world’s oceans. It’s people. People who steal, sell and eat turtle eggs. These pictures of sea turtles in Costa Rica tell it all.

Reproduction in sea turtles

Turtles bite each other in the neck during the mating process, which takes place at sea. Every one or two years, the females migrate to the shore to lay their eggs. They usually go back to the place where they were born themselves. Using her flipper-like paws the female turtle digs a 30 to 50 cm deep hole in the sand and deposits her eggs in it. While laying the eggs, she goes into a sort of trance. Poachers exploit this moment to collect the eggs and subsequently sell them. In order to protect the eggs, wildlife protectors buy them and then breed them into young turtles in a different location. When the turtle awakes from her trance, she covers the nest with sand and crawls back to sea. After hatching, the young turtles immediately move towards the water. The majority of the hatchlings are soon eaten by fish, birds and other animals that like to feed on young, soft turtles.

Sea turtles in Costa Rica are hiding eggs

Proachers searching for turtle eggs

Massive theft of eggs by population Costa Rica

Stealing of turtle eggs by humans

Woman steals sea turtle egg for consumption or for sale

Sandy beaches Costa Rica: proachers stealing sea turtle eggs

Massive theft and sale of sea turtle eggs in Costa Rica

2. Amanprana / Noble-House visited the turtle conservation project in Sri Lanka

Here an effort is made to prevent people from selling turtle eggs to others as food. Locals are paid to sell their eggs to the marine turtle conservation project. They ensure that the eggs can safely hatch and subsequently release the hatchlings to sea.

Maxime Maes with an endangered turtle

Water turtle farm in Sri Lanka, visited by the Amanprana Team

Amanprana Team in Sri Lanka visits the sea turtle farm

Maxime with an endangered water turtle

Sea turtle Sri Lanka Amanprana team Maxime Maes

Tsunami tidal wave destroys house Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka temple survived Tsunami tidal wave

Tsunami memorial donated by Japan to Sri Lanka

3. Environmental disaster of BP’s Deepwater Horizon devastating for sea turtles.

80 sea turtles found dead on the coasts of Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana as a direct result of the oil and environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. This is only a small fraction of the total number of sea turtles that died. With thanks to the BP oil platform Deepwater Horizon.

Environmental disaster of BP Deepwater Horizon devastating for sea turtles