Page 14 - ARUBA TODAY

A14 LOCAL
Thursday 20 July 2017

The Leatherback Turtle Season has Started on Aruba!

a lot of information on this Last year a total of 20 nests
sign. were counted on Eagle
The Leatherback Sea Turtle Beach, laid by just two dif-
(Dermochelyscoriacea) ferent females. Those two
is the largest of the seven did a splendid job, above
species of sea turtles liv- the average. But in general
ing in the world’s oceans 2016 was not a very abun-
today. Aruba is proud to dant Leatherback nesting
welcome these magnifi- year, not here on Aruba
cent animals every year. and neither in the rest of

EAGLE BEACH - Two weeks we can see on the Driekiel- name Driekiel-O-Meter for
ago the first Leatherback O-Meter sign there are the big sign placed along They are the oldest “repeat the Caribbean region. Let’s
nest of this year was found two nests now. The Leath- the Boulevard at Eagle guests” of the island. see what 2017 will bring us!
on the beach in front of erback Sea Turtle is locally Beach, in front of Paradise The Leatherback Sea Turtle Leatherbacks can be
Amsterdam Manor and as called Driekiel, hence the Beach Villa’s. You can find does not live in the Carib- found not only at Eagle
bean Sea, but in the North- Beach/Low Rise area, but
ern part of the Atlantic also at other sandy beach-
Ocean. Every 2-4 years the es like Arashi, Andicuri,
adult female will return to Boca Grandi.
lay her eggs on the beach If you find tracks/activity of
where she herself was born. a sea turtle on the beach,
She does not lay just one please call the Turtle Ho-
nest, but repeat the egg tline as soon as possible.
laying every 8-12 days with Thanks!
an average of seven nests More info:
per season. The eggs need turtugaruba@hotmail.com-
60 – 70 days of incuba- www.facebook.com/Tur-
tion, so it will take about tugaruba
two months to see the little Turtle Hotline (297) 592-
hatchings leaving the nest. 9393.