Yahoo News Drone captures rare sight of endangered leatherback turtle returning to sea after nesting
By day, Costa Rica's Pacific coast is well-known for surf breaks and stunning sunsets. By night, turtles often visit the country's beaches to nest under the cover of darkness.
But in this video, Jenell Black, Field Manager at the Leatherback Trust, managed to capture the rare sight of a leatherback turtle returning to the sea after nesting during daylight using a drone.
She said: "Once in a rare while our team out conducting a morning survey happens upon a sea turtle that is up late enough she may still be on the beach as the sun rises.
"Since light disrupts nesting sea turtles, photographs may not be taken of nesting sea turtles at night, but sea turtles that are up under the bright morning light are free game to take photos of respectfully and without the use of flash.
"Our project has been making large efforts to be at the lead of exciting new research methods conducted with drones, and I was lucky enough to remember to bring one out with me so you could witness this exciting event of a leatherback returning to the sea after completing her nesting process.
"What is so very exciting about using the drone is that we are able to not only see how the leatherback moves on land, but how graceful she is once she’s in the water clear of the shore."
Parque Nacional Marino Las Baulas remains the largest nesting location for the Eastern Pacific leatherback, a population that has declined by more than 98 per cent since 1990.
Organisations such as The Leatherback Trust, MINAE (Ministerio Ambiente y Energía, or Ministry of Environment and Energy)’s rangers, schools and universities, and even local restaurants are working tirelessly to prevent further decline of this population.
Threats to these animals include climate change – where increased temperatures can cause nest mortality, pollution with plastics – which get lodged in digestive systems and nasal passages causing mortality, fisheries – where turtles are accidentally caught on long lines or in shrimp trawling traps and drown, known as bycatch, and habitat loss – leaving our girls with no place to lay their eggs.
Top 10 | The most endangered animals
