The Biggest Sea Turtle Swarm

Sunday 1st of December 2019

The Biggest Sea Turtle Swarm

This is the biggest sea turtle swarm ever filmed. Every year at Costa Rica’s Ostional National Wildlife Refuge, hundreds of thousands of female sea turtles arrive to lay their eggs on the beach. Biologist Vanessa Bézy, who has been researching on the mass arrival for years, uses a drone to record the greatest density of sea turtle species ever.

Although the footage was uploaded to YouTube recently, it was filmed in 2016. Bézy says she’s releasing the footage now because the turtles are increasingly threatened by tourists, who can crowd the beaches at critical times, and, potentially, development.

During the first two days of the arrival, people can legally harvest some eggs that are likely to be trampled by turtles that arrive later. However, illegal harvest also takes place and Bézy hopes the public will care more about the turtles after seeing the film—and will support protecting the areas.