Sea turtles’ chance to beat extinction destroyed by a selfie

By Patriot Outdoor News

Costa Rican authorities have launched an investigation after a mob of irresponsible tourists and locals prevented sea turtles from laying their eggs along the country’s Pacific coast.

Crowds swarmed the Ostional Wildlife Refuge, in northwestern Guanacaste, and disrupted the nesting ritual for a number of olive ridley sea turtles, which are listed as a vulnerable or threatened species.

As they gathered in the hundreds, the visitors stood in the turtles’ way as they swam ashore and even placed children on top of them to snap keepsake photos, causing many of the creatures to return to the sea without laying their eggs.

Other tourists touched the turtles, stood on top of their nests and snapped photos with flash cameras, according to the Union of Workers of the Ministry of Environment and Energy.

The union has blasted the tourists and said an investigation will take place to find out why the crowd was not held back over the weekend and how to control visitors in the future so not to interfere with the nesting.
Refuge administrator Carlos Hernandez said he had never seen that many people at the beach, and that some visitors had entered through unauthorised access points, The Tico Times reported.

Although the turtles arrive in …read more

Source:: Patriot Outdoor News