Tortuguero National Park

Post by GuillermoG

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Tortuguero National Park was officially decreed by law as a national park on November 17th 1975, and it’s located in the Limon province of Costa Rica. It was created in order to protect the flora and fauna of the region and to have a place to carry out scientific investigations that would serve to better understand and gain more knowledge of the environment. It’s also the most important area on the Caribbean coastline for green sea turtle nesting.

It consists of approximately 19 hectares (47 acres) of land and a bit over 52 hectares (128 acres) on the marine counterpart. Tortuguero is a zone with high levels of rainfall – between 5 and 6mm of rain, yearly- with two different types of rain patterns: local short duration rainfall (which occur quite frequently), and the characteristically known Caribbean seasonal rain which can last for up to 15 days straight. This last kind, is brought in by the northern trade winds. The park has a natural system of lakes, lagoons and navigable water corridors or canals, with beautiful natural landscapes and scenery. It is the home of various kinds of land turtles, manatees (also known as the sea cow), crocodiles, crustaceans and somewhere around 50 different kinds of freshwater fish species- including the Gaspar fish. It’s the home of the endangered Tapir, of jaguars, congo monkeys, spiders and tarantulas, Carablanca salamanders; sloths, racoons, otters, and the Fishing Bulldog Bat (among the largest kind within the bat species).

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Some of the protected bird species are the Great Green macaw (“guacamaya” in Costarican dialect) which is in danger of extinction; the pavon (a large turkey), the redheaded buzzard, and the Great Black hawk among many others. These birds nest in trees such as the black cedar, the javillo (or sandbox tree), the manu, camphor tree, the cativo, and various kinds of palm trees (within the palms, are the: blackpalm, the suita and the royal palm trees). The lower growing vegetation consists of an infinite amount of ferns, hilly forest areas, and the jovillo palms located in the center area of the park- which is a marsh mainly characterized by herbaceous plants measuring up to 2 meters in height, as well as herbal communities growing over the lagoons, with floating vegetation such as the “choreja” or the water lily.

Aside from the Leatherback sea turtle, the Hawksbill and the Green sea turtle; the Black tortoise is also quite common allover this area, from the piers of Moin to the canals within Tortuguero. However, the park is currently facing a growing threat from turtle poachers whom are coming in, in hopes of hunting these turtles who’s meat and eggs are on high demand at certain restaurants near the beaches of Limon and other areas; the demand reaching as far as San Jose, where they can be consumed at a good price. Due to this issue, the authorities maintain a constant control, continuously raiding clandestine slaughterhouses and seizing the meat and the eggs of the sacrificed animals, and then jailing the furtive poachers.

The demand causes the need to supply, which means that when you visit Costa Rica, please don’t consume these products. By not doing so you’ll be helping to decrease the demand for them. Don’t contribute to a destructive and illegal business such as this most definitely is. The turtles and the land itself, will appreciate it.

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