40,000 Endangered Sea Turtles Expected In Nicaragua

Almost 15,000 endangered sea turtles are nesting in La Flor Wildlife Refuge on the Pacific coast of Nicaragua, officials said.

The marine reptiles are currently making nests to lay their eggs in this natural reserve that stretches some 1,100 meters along the coastline, Environment and Natural Resources Ministry area representative Mario Rodriguez said.

The arrival of the turtles began Thursday night, when 1,860 came ashore.

On Friday night 12,309 sea turtles arrived to deposit their eggs at the coastal reserve, the environmental official said.

Officials expect more than 40,000 to arrive between September and October at La Flor Wildlife Refuge.

Last year at this time, 38,191 sea turtles showed up at the reserve, Rodriguez said.

During the July 2012-January 2013 season, 184,590 turtles came to La Flor to nest on this Pacific coast beach.

Five species of sea turtles reproduce on Nicaraguan beaches: The hawksbill, the leatherback, the loggerhead, the olive ridley, and the green sea turtle, all in danger of extinction due to a variety of factors. They lay their eggs on the Pacific beaches of this country between July and January.

Nicaragua’s most important sea turtle sanctuaries are the wildlife reserves of La Flor and Chacocente on the Pacific coast and the natural reserves of Juan Venado Island, Cosiguina Volcano and Padre Ramos Estuary.

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