Grenada first week

Heather and Peter after we arrived; Sugarloaf Island is in the background.

Sugarloaf...and some of the waves along the way!
Peter and I brought our snorkel gear, just in case there was any visibility and we might spot some turtles swimming in the water. No luck, as it turns out. We knew this area tends to be more wavy, and less likely to have good visibility, and we found this to be the case today. Soooo, we decided to swim all the way across to Sugarloaf, since there might be a reef and greater visibility on the leeward side of the island. So much for taking it easy!

There was indeed a reef on the leeward side of the island.

Peter found this great hermit crab in the corals.

Saying hello to hermie during a rest on the beach. Don't worry, he went right back where he came from!

Peter also found a very large and heavy lambie shell, which he lugged all the way back to the main island. The shell was empty, with clear evidence that people had earlier found the conch and eaten it.

The beach at twilight. At this point, the turtles were only a figment of our imagination; we could only hope we would see one and imagine what they would be like. Peter and I thought we had a pretty good idea what they would be like, as we had snorkeled with many large green turtles in Hawaii a year and a half ago.

BBQ as the sky got dark.

Boy, were we unprepared for what we would experience! We found out that, although Grenada sees a number of turtle species in neighboring waters and on its beaches (like the hawksbill on the region's currency,) Levera seems to host Leatherback turtles almost exclusively. Leatherback turtles are the largest turtles in the world, weighing in from between 500 to 2,000 pounds! These giants are also endangered worldwide.

Taking photos was a huge challenge, as Levera Beach is far from any light sources (which is good for the turtles,) and there is no flash photography allowed because sudden bursts of light can dangerously disorient both adults and babies. Peter did a great job given the circumstances. The darkness also means walking on the sand is risky, as one must take care not to step on any babies heading for the water. In the photo above, you might be able to make out the first female we saw; her shell, which is covered with a thin layer of skin, slopes down to the left. Human figures stand in the background to give an idea of scale.

Digging female with an island in the background.
People are directed to stay far away from the turtles until they start to dig their hole, as any disturbance might send them back into the sea. Sometimes females make helter skelter tracks and appear to start fake nests before they move on to dig the actual nest. If the adults are scared back into the water before they start digging, females will release their eggs into the ocean, where the babies perish. However, once she is comfortable enough to start to dig the real nest, people can approach from behind and watch her perform her miracle.

This is the very back of the female's pointed shell. The red light is not a flame, but a red LED light, which is the safest type of light to shine. You can see her two back flippers stretching downward to dig out the sand. She takes a scoopful of sand from one side by curling her amazingly dexterous flipper inward, and then deftly maneuvers the sand, crane-like, up and to that side of her body, where it is dumped. The opposite back flipper then springs straight up in the air, where any extraneous sand is flung off before the flipper reaches down for another scoop. She goes on in this manner for what seems like about 20-30 minutes, until neither of her flippers can stretch to reach the bottom any longer. The result is inevitably a uniform, very cylindrical, deep hole in which to lay her eggs. The deepest hole we saw was over three feet deep. Conservationists help along the way by cutting any vines that appear in the hole, to prevent the babies from getting caught in them on their journey upwards.

With the hole dug, Momma Turtle starts to lay her eggs: from about 80-100 of them. They come out in spurts, anywhere from one to maybe 8 eggs at a time. The white eggs are soft and covered in mucous. A conservationist typically "catches" the eggs, letting them run through gloved hands so they can be counted. Some of the eggs at the end are tiny and unfertilized.

In addition to the egg counter, other conservationists can be simultaneously at work. They hold the flippers far enough apart for the egg counter, some check the turtles' identification tags and/or electronic ID number, others measure the shell, and some keep track of the time each event starts and stops, and someone needs to record all of the data. Conservationists collect data and protect the turtles seven nights a week, six months out of the year, during laying season. The group in Grenada can be found at www.OceanSpirits.org.

After she is done laying, she fills in the hole, tamping down the sand periodically with those dexterous back flippers. As she is digging or laying or concealing, sometimes a female will stop for a moment to let out a large, audible sigh.

After the hole is filled in, she uses her front flippers to throw sand all over the location. Females often seem to work in a circular motion, sometimes leaving herself elevated on a plateau of sand: as she flings sand she digs a pit all around her. Females can throw sand quite a ways, and in random patterns, apparently to camouflage the actual nest site. When she is satisfied that she has concealed the area and confused any potential predators, she heaves herself back to the sea.
In about four hours, we were privileged to see three females lay nests, from start to finish.

Peter and I were sorry that we had been part of a very large group, which was a bit overwhelming for us and too much for the conservationists to manage. We also learned many sad facts that night. Grenadians poach the eggs and young of Leatherbacks, and they even kill adult females laying eggs for meat. Just last week, the conservationists recovered 45 eggs from a poacher and put them back into a human-made nest. Moreover, the government is selling the (formerly nationally preserved) land
all around the beach for development. Decisions made about how the development will proceed may determine the fate of Leatherbacks in Grenada and impact the world population.

Just before we left, we were infused with hope and thrilled to see two tiny babies, the last of a nest to emerge. They came out of the sand and start flip-flopping toward the water. Sometimes they turn upside down in footprints, and a helpful human turns them right-side up. Soon enough, they reach the sea and embark upon an amazing journey. It is impossible to think that these tiny creatures can make it past the waves! Fortunately, they somehow overcome the power of the ocean and hopefully, many of them will return to this very beach with babies of their own!