Today we spent the morning and afternoon, between naps and meals, in training. Nature Seekers figured that what we are doing would make more sense after we have seen it in action on the beach one night, and they are right.
So here's the scoop on Nature Seekers: The group was started by a local woman named Suzan Lakhan Baptiste, also known as "the Crazy Turtle Lady," (last year she won a CNN Hero Award for her work). She realized the importance of the turtles, she realized they were endangered. In the 1970's and 1980's 30% of turtles were killed for meat, shells, and well, hey, why not? The hatchlings were used for bait by fishermen, eggs were poached, the necks of the adults were hacked to allow the blood to run in the surf and attract sharks to the beach for shark fishermen. Hawksbill and Green turtles (two other species that also nest here, but are even more rare than the leatherbacks) were killed for their hard shells to make jewelry (today it is illegal to transport turtle jewelry out of the country). Even today there is still an open season on Leatherbacks (Nature Seekers is trying to get the newly elected government to reverse this - there is a Facebook campaign: Trinidad & Tobago Leatherback Project). But the biggest threat is bycatch. NS estimates that 1,000 turtles per year are caught in fishing nets, and they are working to test other fishing methods and convince local fishermen that these other methods are kinder to the turtles and are actually more efficient at catching the intended fish. It is an uphill battle to change attitudes. Occasionally a baby will be a snack for crabs or hawks. They don't fuss about that too much - Circle of Life and all.
So Nature Seekers is unusual in that it is an organization of locals protecting their own wildlife. The guides are locals, the research is conducted and compiled by locals, the tourism is conducted by the locals. They are trying to build a model for local conservation that can be copied elsewhere in the world. An admirable goal. This model is different than the model that requires an outsider to come in and steamroll the local population's needs in various conservation efforts.
It's not easy being a turtle in the ocean. But the research has given them a good idea where the turtles are going. Many of them ride the ocean currents up to Nova Scotia. One was found in New York, one in North Carolina, one in Florida. And yet they return, for the most part, to the same beaches every 2-3 years to nest. Although there are exceptions. Trinidad turtles have nested in Tobago and Costa Rica, which has given rise to the local expression: "Don't put all your eggs on one beach."
As an alternative to the turtle shell jewelry, the local male guides are experimenting with turning the glass bottles collected on the beach into glass beads to make jewelry and sell. And after they work nights patrolling the beach, the men head out with machetes into the jungle during the day to help with a reforestation project. They are replanting local vegetation and fruit trees in the hopes that wildlife will return (the monkeys are almost gone).
The second part of the lecture, Ronald, one of the spunkier guides, talked to us again about how to approach working our beach zones. We learned how to prioritize turtles - returning nesters versus new nesters (tag the new turtles first), how to prioritze timing (a turtle who is just coming ashore may have another 40 minutes before she starts laying, so you have time to patrol the shore looking for others. We learned how to use our GPS to get the precise coordinates of the egg chamber, how to measure properly, how to record all the data: everything from the weather, the time, date, the turtle's activities, the flipper damage, parasites on the turtle, injuries, identifying abnormalities, etc. My head was spinning, but the task for me is nothing compared to what these turtles go through, or the hatchlings for that matter. These animals are very, very determined to continue their species, and I will do what I need to to help them.
Go check out www.natureseekers.org. Send them money if you have some to spare!
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