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Sea Turtles in Paradise

Writer's picture: Amanda Hensley, DVM, MPHAmanda Hensley, DVM, MPH

Updated: Apr 4, 2023

Earlier this week, I found myself in the bed of a small pickup truck, flying down the beach, being chased by a donkey.

Newly hatched babies

No, this wasn’t some psychedelic-induced hallucination; rather, I was invited by some friends to join them on a visit to Campamento Tortuguero Reina Laúd, a small sea turtle camp along the coast of Ecuador.


A project of the Fundación Contamos Contigo Ecuador, the camp sits in a secluded dry valley along the coast, just a few miles north of the town I’ve called home for the past month. Since the camp is not open to the public, I was excited for the opportunity to visit it and to see a recently hatched group of olive ridley turtles, which would be released at high tide that evening.


We waited until low tide and headed out for a hot and sandy bike ride a few miles up the beach. When we arrived, we were greeted by Kerly - the VP of Fundacion

Contamos Contigo Ecuador and sole turtle watcher at the site - and Serapio, a precocious young rescue donkey that was recently added to the menagerie at the camp.

Serapio in full pursuit

During nesting season, Kerly and a handful of volunteers monitor the entire coastline in this area, covering up to 20km a day - sometimes without a vehicle! Nests in danger of being destroyed by tides or other hazards are relocated to the turtle camp, and others are marked and monitored until they hatch.


Someone had reported a possible new nest up the beach, so Kerly invited us along to check it out. We all piled in the back of the S-10-style pickup truck and took off up the beach. Not wanting to be left out, Serapio followed along at a full gallop.


We didn’t find a nest, so, with Serapio still in tow, Kerly showed us around more of the land that houses the camp, including an incredible birds-eye view from a small structure on a cliff high above the beach that serves as the jumping-off spot for paragliders.

Shaded and quiet, this spot was so tranquil that I couldn’t imagine a better way to end the day - that is until Kerly asked us to take some of the turtles back to town with us so that we could meet another volunteer and help release them at high tide! Of course, we were excited to do it, but it felt a little heavy, knowing that under the best of circumstances, only 1 out of 1,000-10,000 are estimated to survive to adulthood.

Good luck little buddy!

Pollution, climate change, fishing, predation, and destruction of turtle habitats are among the many reasons that most sea turtle species are endangered. When we released these guys, the volunteer pointed out that many of them were sickly and underdeveloped - likely because of hatching so late in the season. We did what we could to protect them until they made their way into the ocean and can only hope some of them will survive.

I’ve always been a bleeding heart type, taking on the biggest and most disheartening of challenges, so of course, the next day I asked Kerly how I could help. She told me that they hope to open a wildlife rescue at the camp, complete with a marine animal hospital. She told me that the only one in all of Ecuador was no longer operational so this is an urgent need. She shared some of the vision for this hospital and explained some of the logistical challenges.

I may not know anything about wildlife medicine, but I do know a lot of people and am skilled at developing strategic relationships, so I will do what I can to help this become a reality and support the people trying to make a difference in this one little corner of the world.

**Disclaimer: Much of this information was gained through text conversations translated with google. I tried to be as accurate as possible, but it may not be 100% and I will update with corrections as needed.


P.S. To add to the magic of this day, when we were riding our bikes back to town from the camp, this sea lion popped out of the water and went to sun herself on the rocks right in front of us! I’m told that this was not at all uncommon 15-20 years ago but has since become a rarity. What a treat!


Edited to share: A friend started a GoFundMe for the more immediate need of raising money to send Kerly to the sea turtle symposium in Colombia in March, where she will be able to learn and collaborate with other like-minded conservationists. Thanks for your support!



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