Galapagos Green Sea Turtle

December starts the mating season for the Galapagos Green Sea Turtle.  A subspecies of the Green Sea Turtles, the Galapagos Green Sea Turtle is the only of its species to nest on the shores of the Galapagos Islands.

Curious creatures, sea turtles are frequently seen bobbing their heads out of the water to see passing boats and are frequently seen watching snorkelers from a safe distance.  Surprisingly enough visitors are more likely to encounter sea turtles in Galapagos than they are tortoises. Galapagos Green Sea Turtles unlike the enigmatic Galapagos Tortoise lives in the sea, while the Galapagos Tortoise lives its life on land.  Male sea turtles live their entire lives at sea while females come ashore to nest and lay eggs.

At night the female will come ashore and navigate to above the high tide line where it will dig a pit with its back flippers in the loose sand.  It will lie normally between 75 to 100 eggs per pit.  When she finishes laying the eggs the female will carefully cover the pit with sand and then return to the sea. It takes the female between 3 and 8 hours to complete the process, as she will often dig false pits to fool predators.

During mating season the female will make a nest every couple of weeks laying approximately 600 eggs per season.  Unfortunately Galapagos Sea Turtles have a high mortality rate due to egg beetles, crabs, hawks, mockingbirds and frigate birds as well as feral pigs and rats.

Galapagos Green Sea Turtle found in Costa Rica

A green turtle from the Galapagos Islands showed up on a beach in Golfo Dulce, Osa Peninsula, in Costa Rica's Southern Zone. The find was a happy surprise for sea turtle conservationists working in the area. Courtesy of Todd Staley.

On the subject of Galapagos Green Turtle Season…

Toddy Staley of the Tico Times Reports…

Researchers from Widecast Costa Rica discovered a mature female Eastern Pacific Green turtle which had been tagged in the Galapagos Islands during their collection study Thursday in the Gulfo Dulce in the Osa Peninsula. Blood and tissue samples were taken from the turtle and then the sea creature was released.
“This is very exciting for us,” said Didiher Chacón who is president of Widecast Costa Rica, a sea turtle conservation organization. “We have been capturing turtles on and average of every two hours of time on the water and discovered what we think is a major feeding ground in the Golfo Dulce for Green Turtle populations.

It is rare for a Green Turtle to nest in the GolfoDulce area. Turtles that come to Costa Rica nest at beaches in Santa Rosa National Park, Nombre de Jesus and Punta Pargos in Guanacaste. Widecast researchers now believe the turtles come from as far as Galapagos, off the coast of Ecuador, to feed in the gulf.

Blood samples from the turtles in the area will give a Widecast a better idea of the health of the Golfo Dulce. Pesticide, sewage and sediment levels detected in the samples will determine the possible negative effect of palm and rice farms in the area.

Baby Sea Turtle Season in Galapagos

As we enter the month of April green sea turtles begin to hatch in the Galapagos Islands.  The Galapagos Green Turtle is a subspecies of the green sea turtle.  Prime nesting season is from January to March and eggs hatch after a two-month incubation.  Unlike the famous Giant Tortoise of the Galapagos who live on land, the Galapagos Green Turtle lives their life at sea.

For those visiting the Galapagos on a Galapagos Cruise Gardner Bay on Española is one of the most common places that visitors encounter young turtles.  If you are staying on Santa Cruz Island you can encounter hatchlings at Tortuga Bay and Bachas Beach.