Sea Turtle in Cabarete

DR Mpe

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Mar 31, 2003
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Anyone that saw it? I heard it was on the beach laying eggs outside bambu/onnos at midnight, guess she is a party animal... Politur seems to have protected her.

Took half a diazephan, so I was unfortunately a sleep...

Maybe somebody even have photos to share.
 
J

John Evans

Guest
what are they doing with the eggs is there a safe place to hatch them
 

snowbird44

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Oct 29, 2004
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Cabarete07-08149.jpg

Cabarete07-08150.jpg


I was there last night! What an awesome site! She was huge. After doing a little Google this morning I have come to the conclusion, judging from the ridges on her back that she must be a critically endangered Leatherback species sea turtle.

I hope they keep guarding the nest. Too bad I won't be here when the little ones hatch and scramble back into the water.
 
J

John Evans

Guest
aparently they take 60 to 70 days to hatch ...thats a long watch
 

sollie

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Jul 30, 2006
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Very Cool Encounter

The eggs make a really fluffy omelet, JUST KIDDING!:cheeky: Thanks for the pic snowbird.

Sollie
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
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Let us hope that the community of Cabarete will protect these eggs and the hatchlings as they start to come out. this is a magnificent specimen of the Leatherback, a highly endangered species.
How about it Cabarete people? Can you get out of your relaxed lifestyles and help protect this nest?

FYI: At Cap Cana there were some bird's nests on the beach, each identified, each protected. But that property is far, far from "ordinary" people!!

Come on, make sure they are safe!!

HB
 

quaqualita

Member
Feb 4, 2002
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I missed that turtle last night, but about 10 years ago also a Leatherback turtle laid her eggs close to Camino del Sol hotel, east of Cabarete, right besides the sunchairs of the tourist.
After we chased away some Dominicans trying to dig out the eggs, the hotel at that time also put 24 hrs watchman there and 65 days later 101 little turtles hatched and made it safely into the ocean.

Problem is that only very very few of the hatchlings will survive as they are very favourite food for all bigger fish in the ocean. The one or two survivors who grow up are crossing the oceans in search of a mate (very difficult to find one, as there are only very few left out there), it can take them 50 years or more to find a mate.
Once they finally found a mate, the female comes back to the exact place where she was born and lays her eggs there.

Very facinating and nice to see that a Cabarete turtle made it and has now returned.
 
J

John Evans

Guest
those are fascinating facts - I bet she had a shock returning after 50 years to find all the bars on her beach
 

aegap

Silver
Mar 19, 2005
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It's the largest of them all!
I missed that turtle last night, but about 10 years ago also a Leatherback turtle laid her eggs close to Camino del Sol hotel, east of Cabarete, right besides the sunchairs of the tourist.
After we chased away some Dominicans trying to dig out the eggs, the hotel at that time also put 24 hrs watchman there and 65 days later 101 little turtles hatched and made it safely into the ocean.

Problem is that only very very few of the hatchlings will survive as they are very favourite food for all bigger fish in the ocean. The one or two survivors who grow up are crossing the oceans in search of a mate (very difficult to find one, as there are only very few left out there), it can take them 50 years or more to find a mate.
Once they finally found a mate, the female comes back to the exact place where she was born and lays her eggs there.

Very facinating and nice to see that a Cabarete turtle made it and has now returned.

Once they hatch , Medio Ambiente should probably take and raise them under controlled conditions for a while.
 
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sweetdbt

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Sep 17, 2004
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Yes, in a situation like this, with such an endangered species, raising the hatchlings til they get somewhat larger will dramatically increase the percentage that survive to adulthood.
 

aegap

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Mar 19, 2005
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Fence that area

They should probably not even risk leaving them to hatch there. They should, it possible, dig the eggs out and take 'em to a hatchery as soon as possible.
 

whirleybird

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Feb 27, 2006
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I would so loved to have seen this huge turtle coming to lay her eggs - Snowbird you are so lucky to have been there and had a camera with you... wow! sometimes the DR is really special.
 

snowbird44

New member
Oct 29, 2004
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yes, I consider myself extremely lucky to have seen that. It is wonderful to see animals at Zoo's or aquariums, but this was the "wild" experience and I really treasure it.
This afternoon at the beach I didn't see any guards, but the nest area was protected by beach chairs placed in a circle around the nest. It also looked like they were trying to rope off the nest area.
I am wondering if any authorities will be involved in protecting the area or will it be left up to the private sector? Is there an organization in the DR that deals with cases like this?
 

sweetdbt

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Sep 17, 2004
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They should probably not even risk leaving them to hatch there. They should, it possible, dig the eggs out and take 'em to a hatchery as soon as possible.

After reading the data in the link supplied by CFA123, it would appear the hatch rate is actually better if the nest is not disturbed. I do know however, from my extensive research watching the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet ;) that raising them in "captivity" until they are about a foot long will result in many more surviving to reproductive age. The nest should be guarded 24/7, and as the hatching time approaches enough people need to be on hand to capture all of those little suckers as they hatch and haul them to safety.
 

aegap

Silver
Mar 19, 2005
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After reading the data in the link supplied by CFA123, it would appear the hatch rate is actually better if the nest is not disturbed. I do know however, from my extensive research watching the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet ;) that raising them in "captivity" until they are about a foot long will result in many more surviving to reproductive age. The nest should be guarded 24/7, and as the hatching time approaches enough people need to be on hand to capture all of those little suckers as they hatch and haul them to safety.

It should be fenced in really well too.
 

whirleybird

Silver
Feb 27, 2006
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I am starting to get a really scary, horrible feeling about these potential baby turtles - is everyone going to leave it to everyone else to ensure their protection??