Recently we received an email from a group in Parismina (just south of Tortuguero National Park) in Costa Rica. They are in dire need of volunteers to walk the beaches at night looking for turtle nests.
Parismina has been a priority for Project Green Jungle because of the problems with poaching. This remote beach is a nesting home for the world’s sea turtles. Historically Parismina has been the site of looting and poaching of eggs, even the endangered Leatherback.
Individuals with a drug problem have been purported to be paid in crack for a nest of leatherback eggs. With only 1 in 1000 reaching adulthood anyways, this can have an incredible impact on the amount of animals making it even into the water, let alone adulthood.
When I was there last year, we were told that poachers get about $25 dollars worth of crack per nest (about 100 eggs). They are then sold elsewhere for a few dollars a piece, creating an environmental disaster for around 250 dollars.
Please email Juliana here if you are going to be in Costa Rica and would like to take part in their programs.
Popularity: 7%
