One of the most exciting things about going to Saona Island in the Dominican Republic is having the rare opportunity to see a sea turtle in person! When you see one, you know you’re looking at a modern creature that has retained the characteristics of a much older creature. In fact, some say sea turtles remind them of dinosaurs. If you travel to Punta Cana, do not miss this rare opportunity.
Four species of large sea turtles nest on Saona Island, mainly on the south side. These include:
1. Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)
2. Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)
3. Big-headed turtle (Caretta caretta)
4. Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas)
All four species are listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICUN). In fact, both the hawksbill and leatherback sea turtles are listed as critically endangered, making them one of the most endangered animals on Earth. Of course, this makes seeing one even more precious.
When a female sea turtle lays her eggs, she climbs out of the water and heads for the beach. This usually happens at night. She digs a hole with her flippers and lays about 100-150 soft but leathery cream colored eggs. After placing them, she lightly covers them again with sand. She realizes that if she buries them too far away, they won’t get the oxygen they need and they will die. She repeats this process 3-10 times during a nesting season, returning to the same beach to do so (except leatherbacks). The gestation period is 60 to 80 days, depending on the species of turtle, the temperature and the depth at which they are buried.
When the baby turtles hatch, they scamper out to sea. If they can get to the mangroves, they will be much safer and have a much better chance of reaching adulthood. However, both the eggs and the young are extremely vulnerable to predation. Birds, crabs and lizards love to eat them. Although they are protected by law, there are also poachers of human tortoises who steal the eggs and hatchlings. The eggs are considered a delicacy by some and the turtle shell and adult turtle meat are also highly prized by some. Wave action can also wash the eggs out to sea before they hatch or cover them too deeply in the sand for them to survive and hatch. For all these reasons, only 1 in 10,000 sea turtles make it to adulthood.
Conservationists are working hard to try to save these beautiful creatures. The most intense conservation efforts on Saona Island are for the hawksbill sea turtle. Hawksbill turtles travel thousands of miles and if any part of their journey takes them to a place where they die or are injured, it may mean the species will not survive. To this end, scientists need to better understand where these turtles go after they hatch. They lay their eggs on Saona Island. To track them, they temporarily detain some of the female hawksbills in a wooden pen after they lay their eggs and glue a satellite transmitter to their shell. This does not harm the turtle, but it allows scientists to track where it goes.
There is a moving story to be told about tagged hawksbill turtles. One of the first to be tagged with a radio transmitter is named Isla Saona. However, it was not called “Saona”. Instead, it was given the name that the indigenous pre-Columbian Taíno called the island, “Adamanay”. Last time I checked, Adamanay had traveled a total of 1,716 miles. After laying her eggs, he had traveled southwest and, by his signal, it was known that he was foraging off the coast of Nicaragua. Of course, if it survives, it will return to the same beach on Saona Island in the Dominican Republic to lay its eggs again. Scientists and others are very fond of Adamanay and her other sisters with radio tags.
The local population has also been involved in sea turtle conservation action. There is a small town of 300 to 400 people on the southwest coast of Saona Island. Children from the village school and some of the adults have become involved in the project and it is partially funded by a local eco-tourism operator (see below) who runs the most popular tour from Punta Cana to Saona Island. If you take this tour, you will be able to see how the sea turtle conservation project works, meet some of the children involved, and if you are very lucky, you will be able to see some of the baby sea turtles that are only 1-3 days old. . These baby turtles are so cute that you might want to pick them up and cuddle them like kittens. They will surely make you smile every time you think of them.
This sea turtle conservation project consists of collecting some of the eggs just after they are laid. They are placed in coolers and the exact place on the beach where they are collected and the time are recorded. They are kept in refrigerators until they hatch (60 to 80 days) and then for an additional 3 days to give the baby turtles a chance to get a bit stronger. They are then taken back to the same spot on the beach and released. Doing things this way increases your chances of survival from 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 3 – quite an improvement, don’t you think?! The people involved in this project are incredible people who are totally dedicated to the project and the survival of these majestic creatures.