A sea turtle paradise in the land of lakes and volcanoes

There is little reason to wonder why Nicaragua is known as the land of lakes and volcanoes when you witness its dramatic volcanic landscape filled with vast forests, lagoons, lakes and pristine beaches. Located in the middle of the Americas, Nicaragua is home to a rich variety of plants and animals, and its beaches provide important nesting habitat for sea turtles.

Globally, there are seven species of sea turtle swimming in our oceans. Sea turtles are generally long-lived and can migrate vast distances between feeding sites and nesting beaches. They face a multitude of threats including poaching for their eggs, meat and shells, accidental entanglement in fishing nets and the potentially detrimental effect of climate change on hatchling sex ratio.

In Nicaragua, Fauna & Flora International (FFI) focuses on protecting three sea turtle species: hawksbill, leatherback and olive ridley – all of which are sadly included on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Continued...
Source

 

[img]

Credit: Alam Ramirez/FFI

Gathering vital information about hawksbill turtles.

Source / Image Courtesy

 

Credit: Jeremy Holden/FFI

The leatherback is the largest sea turtle species.

Source / Image Courtesy

 

Credit: Evan Bowen-Jones

Last of the arribada, an olive ridley female in Nicaragua.

Source / Image Courtesy

 

Hawksbill Sea Turtle.