On the warm black sand beaches of the Caribbean island of Dominica, hundreds of tiny baby sea turtles emerge from their eggs and crawl to the sea. If you know when to go, you can witness this amazing natural phenomenon for yourself, and some hotels even have sea turtle conservation programs where you can help protect the adorable hatchlings (under the supervision of a trained scientist, of course). It's a spectacular experience all animal and nature lovers should have at least once in their lives.

All sea turtle species are threatened with extinction, often because of humans disturbing or destroying nesting beaches. Rosalie Bay Resort, where this photo was taken, has pioneered sea turtle conservation efforts in Dominica, and offers their guests opportunities to learn about and interact with leatherback, green (pictured), and hawksbill sea turtles.

 

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This entry was posted on January 31, 2014 at 2:25 PM and has received 793 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

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The Galapagos Islands, an archipelago of volcanic islands located 656 miles off the coast of Ecuador, are famous for their stunning and well preserved natural beauty, including a large number of endemic species that are some of the world's most exotic animals.

Today we present five of the most famous animals that are unique to the Galapagos:

1. Giant tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra)

These are the largest turtles in the world and among the longest living. The largest Galapagos giant tortoise measured almost 6 feet and weight over 880 lbs. They can live over 100 years in the wild while captive individuals have been known to reach 170 years. Today there are only 11 kinds of giant tortoise in the Galapagos, down from 15 when Darwin arrived, and about 15,000 individuals total. All are threatened with extinction. One interesting fact: these huge, peaceful creatures can rest for up to 16 hours per day.

2. Marine iguanas (Amblyrhynchus cristatus)

The Galapagos is home to the only marine iguana in the world! These curious animals live on land but feed on a wide variety of algae on rocks in the sea, either skimming near the surface or diving more than 30 feet (9 m) deep. They can remain underwater for up to 45 minutes, until their body can no longer withstand the cold temperature. It is said that these animals are an excellent example of adaptation. When algae are scarce, they have been seen eating crustaceans, grasshopers, and even terrestrial plants. When even those foods are hard to find, like during severe weather events associated with El Niño, the marine iguanas become thinner and shorter. Marine iguanas have an exotic Jurassic appearance. Males are about 4-5 feet long and females about 2 feet. According to the IUCN, the population of Galapagos marine iguanas consists of approximately 50,000 individuals and is threatened by pollution and predation by exotic species on the islands.

3. Galapagos penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus)

These penguins are the only wild endemic species that live north of the Equator in the Galapagos. They are descendants of a small group of extinct Humboldt penguins that scientists believe were carried to the Islands by the Humboldt Current, which originates in Antarctica and flows north along the west coast of South America from the southern tip of Chile to northern Peru. Unlike other penguins, they can have up to three breeding periods per year, thanks to abundant food (fish and crustaceans) in the islands. They usually lay two eggs and incubate them for about 40 days. Approximately 1,000 individuals of this species live on the islands and they are classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List. The Galapagos penguin is the world's third smallest penguin at only 20 inches tall approximately. In Spanish, they are called pájaro bobo, which means "silly bird."

4. Flightless cormorant (Phalacrocorax harrisi)

Also called the flightless cormorant of the Galapagos, this large endemic bird is unique because it is the only cormorant that has lost the ability to fly. These birds evolved in an isolated island environment that was free of predators. By gradual evolution, they felt no need to fly and eventually lost their flight. Their wings became greatly reduced, measuring only one-third of the area that would be necessary for a bird of its size to fly. These birds live on the rocky shores of the volcanic islands they inhabit, where they fish for eels, small octopuses, fish, and other aquatic creatures. Their population is estimated at around 900 individuals.

5. Galapagos sea lion (Zalophus wollebaecki)

These sea lions are among the largest animals of the Galapagos. They can weigh up to 550 lbs! They are a favorite among tourists, who see them lying on rocks, piers, and even benches near the beaches. Galapagos sea lions are very friendly, and it is safe to dive and swim near them as long as you don't disturb them. However, it is common for groups of sea lions to fight each other over territory. Females give birth to one pup per year and care for them until they are two or three years old. Females live longer than males--up to 20 years. The Galapagos is home to about 50,000 sea lions.

The unique wildlife of the Galapagos is part of what makes this destination so special--and fragile as well. To protect these and other important species, tourists are only allowed to visit the Islands with a licensed tour company. Check out these sustainable tourism business in the Galapagos and plan the trip you'll never forget!

This entry was posted on July 23, 2013 at 3:38 PM and has received 1258 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

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Playa Guiones, located in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, is one of best and most beautiful surfing destinations along the North Pacific coast of the country. Backed by a lush jungle, Guiones beach is a pristine surf break with consistent, year-round waves. It is also part of the Ostional Wildlife Refuge, one of the most important nesting sites in the world for olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea)!

Photo by Surtrek Harmony Hotel.

This entry was posted on February 22, 2013 at 3:32 PM and has received 664 views. There are currently 3 comments. Print this entry.

Taking photos is an essential part of the travel experience, and animals are often the main attraction when it comes to ecotourism. Many times, the most memorable moments of a vacation involve seeing exotic wildlife in their natural habitat – whether it's monkeys swinging through the trees above your rainforest bungalow, dolphins leaping out of the ocean, or a magnificently plumed tropical bird landing on a nearby branch. For me, it was watching a sea turtle glide serenely by while scuba diving off the coast of Roatán, Honduras. As he plucked a morsel of food from a coral reef, paying me no mind, I was keenly aware of how lucky I was to be a guest in his home.

As you appreciate the wildlife you encounter on your next trip, it's important to be conscientious of your impact on their behavior and habitat. Animals are notoriously difficult subjects to shoot, especially for the average traveler with a simple point-and-shoot camera. Unfortunately, that leads some tourists to engage in practices that can be harmful and disruptive to wildlife and/or their habitats. Here are some easy tips for taking fabulous AND responsible wildlife photos!

1) NEVER feed wild animals

It may seem like an easy solution to lure animals with food so that you can get a closer photo. However, feeding wild animals is a very harmful practice that interferes with their natural behavior and upsets the balance of their diet and lifestyle. Eating human food that is not normally a part of their diet can cause serious health problems. In addition, if they become used to receiving food from humans, it diminishes their natural skills for procuring food for themselves, and can also make them behave aggressively towards humans they see later. Sometimes animals will migrate to human-populated areas in search of an easy meal, where they become a nuisance to local people and are killed intentionally or accidentally, by cars, power lines, and other hazards. Reproductive rates can also spike when an artificial food source is available, which leads to a larger animal population than the area can naturally support. These are just a few of the reasons why you should never, ever feed wildlife.

2) Invest in extra memory storage

Animals are unpredictable, and you won't know how each photo really turned out until you look through them all later on a bigger screen than your camera's little LCD. Take way more photos than you think you need, especially if they're moving around – you'll have more luck capturing the instant they strike the perfect pose or the light hits them in the just right way. Invest in a memory card to expand your camera's storage capabilities so you don't have to worry about running out of memory while you're on a photo safari. A 16 GB memory card costs about $10 and will hold about 2,500 photos (on a 12 megapixel camera).

3) Get both close-ups and wide shots

Both close-ups and wide shots make for very interesting wildlife photos. For example, look at these two very different bird photos:

Close-ups show the animal's personality and the texture of their fur, scales, feathers, etc. If it's not safe or plausible to get very close, which is usually the case with larger animals, use your zoom. Wide shots show context, movement, and the animal's beautiful habitat. So much cooler than photos taken at the zoo!

4) Know when to go

Seasonal changes can affect when animals will be the most abundant, especially with migratory species such as sea turtles, whales, and certain birds. Do your research beforehand – find out which season your target animal will be in the area you are visiting. Remember to learn about the animal's daily behavior as well. Some animals only emerge from their hiding place at the crack of dawn, while others are most active at dusk or nighttime. Local people such as hotel staff or tour guides will be the best resource for this kind of information.

5) Don't forget the little guys

The most popular animals for ecotourists are usually the big, charismatic mammals like monkeys, colorful birds, and whales. However, some of the most beautiful and interesting photos are of the little guys we don't usually notice, such as insects and frogs. A magnificent photo just might be crawling about underfoot, so don't forget to crouch down and catch the world from a "smaller" perspective!

Did we miss any wildlife photography tips that have helped you on your past vacations? Leave a comment and let us know!

This entry was posted on January 29, 2013 at 3:47 PM and has received 2095 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

Our Making a Difference award winner this month is Los Cardones Surf Ecolodge, a laid-back beachfront hotel on Nicaragua's Pacific coast. Los Cardones has three stilted bungalows, five cabañas, and a restaurant serving fresh, local food right on the beach. Owner Anne Laure Sitton has taken a particular interest in protecting the sea turtles that come to nest on their beach and in developing community education projects -- and she encourages guests to participate in these efforts as well. We spoke with Anne Laure about Los Cardones and the unique guest experience the lodge provides.

Q. What makes your location, Playa Los Cardones, special?

Sitton: Playa Los Cardones is a pristine beach with preserved coastal dry tropical forest and mangroves. Guests can see caimans, iguanas, migratory and local birds, and small mammals. We also have four species of sea turtles that nest on our beaches: olive ridley, leatherback, hawksbill, and green.

Q. Your hotel has its own program for conserving sea turtles. Can you tell us a bit more about that?

S: Poachers used to steal eggs from the nests and sell them on the black market. So in 2001, we started relocating sea turtle nests from the beach to our property in order to prevent the poachers from getting to them. Fauna & Flora International (FFI) has since trained some of our staff members on sea turtle nursery management. We collect data on the mothers and hatchlings and take note of any occurrences that might be of biological interest to enrich FFI's national database. More than 7,000 hatchlings have been cared for in our nursery in the past ten years.

Guests can get involved by helping us patrol the beaches at night to look for nesting sea turtles and release hatchlings into the ocean. They can also participate in the sea turtle programs that we run at local schools and raise awareness of our activities in their own communities, as well as make donations to support our programs.

Q. What about your community education program? Can guests get involved with that, too?

S: Guests can join us on our weekly visits to the schools, during which we lend books from our mobile library and offer educational activities on varied themes, such as the environment, the arts, sports, English, science, health, careers, and crafts. Guests with special skills are invited to share those with the students, such as playing an instrument, yoga, and teaching English.

Q. Do you have any other noteworthy sustainability initiatives you'd like to share?

S: We have been reforesting as much as we can, both in the lodge area and in another property of ours. Our lodge is run exclusively on solar power and our water is supplied by our own well that is fitted with a mechanical pump and a gravity tank. Gray water is recycled through a network of perforated pipes that irrigates our gardens. In addition, all organic waste is recycled onsite by thermophilic composting.

Q. Why is sustainability so important for your hotel? S: We want our lives and work to be meaningful, and to participate in making the world a better place.

Looking for a relaxing vacation that benefits local communities and wildlife? Stay at Los Cardones! More information about Los Cardones Surf Ecolodge is available on their SustainableTrip profile.

This entry was posted on January 9, 2013 at 11:34 AM and has received 786 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

A guest blog post written by Brad Nahill, Executive Director of SEE Turtles

I've spent a fair amount of time hiking in the jungle, but almost never at night and definitely never at this pace. Four of us were moving quickly through the rainforest, hurrying to the sea turtle nesting beach at the end of the trail in the hopes of arriving in time to put a satellite transmitter on a green sea turtle (also known as a black turtle). The rumble of far-off thunder faded into the sound of crashing waves as we crested a hill near the end of the trail.

My journey had started in the city of Managua several days earlier, where I was picked up by Liza Gonzalez. Liza is the Country Director of Paso Pacifico, an innovative conservation organization focused on protecting the Paso del Istmo, an incredibly beautiful 12-mile stretch of land between Lake Nicaragua and the Pacific Ocean, whose coastline is home to critically important sea turtle nesting beaches. I can't imagine a better guide than Liza, who intimately knows the region and its residents. She's held lofty positions in the government (formerly director of the National Protected Areas System), but her passion for spending time in the field and with the people who depend on natural resources was obvious.

On the way to La Flor Wildlife Refuge, located in the southwestern corner of Nicaragua on the Pacific coast, we made a quick stop in Granada, a beautiful colonial town on the edge of Lake Nicaragua. Strolling through the market in front of the dramatic cathedral, I found more hawksbill turtle jewelry for sale than any other place I've been in Latin America. Travelers, please beware of turtle shell jewelry; purchasing these items contributes to the destruction of this endangered species and it is illegal to bring them into the US.

As we headed south, the view from the car gradually changed from open pastureland to lush forests. We passed through San Juan del Sur, a growing tourist destination that is the main stopping point for backpackers in this area. We saw beautiful nature murals on local schools, ate at a restaurant supported by Paso Pacifico, and passed areas benefiting from their reforestation work. The organization's impact is visible almost everywhere you go in this region.

When we arrived at Ostional Beach, I was stunned by the dramatic view. The rolling rocky Pacific coast of Nicaragua stretching to northern Costa Rica spans the entire horizon, giving the impression of a huge bay. After nightfall, the only visible lights were bright stars and the far off resort area of Papagayo, Costa Rica.

Moving north along the coast of the wildlife refuge, we stopped in front of La Flor Beach, one of a handful of beaches in the world that hosts the arribada, a spectacular nesting event of olive ridley sea turtles, during which thousands of females come ashore simultaneously and lay about 100 eggs each. We took a boat into the water, and my years of habitual silence around turtles went right out the window as I let out an excited yell when a small head popped up not far from our boat. The turtle heard me and dived back down into the water, but there were plenty more bobbing around!

That evening, we hiked quickly to Brasilon Beach, hoping to arrive in time to put a satellite transmitter on a nesting green turtle. This beach is one of several turtle nesting beaches along this stretch of coast protected by Paso Pacifico. When we checked in with the rangers, they told us that the female green turtle they had hoped to tag wasn't suitable for a transmitter because her shell was too thin. But before we released her back into the ocean, we collected some data and let her go on her way. The next day, we visited La Flor beach for the second time, where a relatively small arribada of roughly 1,000 turtles had happened just three days earlier. (At its peak, La Flor can host up to 50,000 turtles.) With so many nesting turtles, it's a challenge for the refuge's rangers to protect nests from poachers who sell turtle eggs on the black market.

A short drive took us to a charming new small hotel owned by local residents. The hotel is participating in Paso Pacifico's reforestation program and hosts a nursery for native trees used throughout the region. Nicaragua has been hard hit by deforestation, but Paso Pacifico's award-winning program has helped restore more than 1,000 acres of rainforest. This inspirational project not only recovers wildlife habitat, but also helps to create jobs, absorb carbon in the air, and prevent erosion and flooding.

The idyllic 12-mile stretch of the "Paso del Istmo" is truly unforgettable. Sandy beaches are lined by tropical forests; monkeys, sea turtles, and colorful tropical birds abound. It is a paradise for wildlife, and thus for ecotourists. It is a place worth visiting -- and, more importantly, a place worth protecting. Scientists and nonprofit organizations like Paso Pacifico are working hard to keep endangered animals and their habitats from disappearing, and you can be a part of their efforts. SEE Turtles connects travelers with sea turtle conservation projects, so you can travel to Nicaragua to help conserve these amazing creatures while enjoying one of the world's most beautiful places.

More ways to get involved:

SEE Turtles: Turtle Vacations in Costa Rica

SEE Turtles: Turtle Vacations in Mexico

SEEtheWILD Nicaragua Wildlife Vacations

Bio:
Brad Nahill is a wildlife conservationist, writer, activist, and fundraiser. He is the Director & Co-Founder of SEEtheWILD, the world's first non-profit wildlife conservation travel website. To date, we have generated more than $300,000 for wildlife conservation and local communities and our volunteers have completed more than 1,000 work shifts at sea turtle conservation project. SEEtheWILD is a project of The Ocean Foundation. Follow SEEtheWILD on Facebook or Twitter.

This entry was posted on January 3, 2013 at 5:29 PM and has received 1036 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

Ostional beach, in Costa Rica's northern Pacific region, is one of the world's major olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) nesting sites. Throughout the year, you can see these beautiful creatures emerging from the sea to lay their eggs in the dark sand of Ostional. But this spectacular show is most impressive between August and late October, during the arribadas, an emergence of nesting females en masse with thousands occupying the entire beach laying millions of eggs.

This natural phenomenon has provided a major attraction for tourism development in the community of Ostional. In addition, since a large percentage of the eggs from the first days of laying are usually dug up or crushed by the later arriving turtles, the community has a legal and sustainable turtle egg harvest project that brings in significant revenue without harming the turtle population.

The largest arribada recorded in Ostional occurred in 1995 when 500,000 olive ridleys laid about ten million eggs.

You can witness the arribada in person! Find sustainable hotels in Costa Rica's northern Pacific region on SustainableTrip.org.

This entry was posted on September 21, 2012 at 9:43 AM and has received 1126 views. There are currently 2 comments. Print this entry.