COSTA RICA ~ The olive ridley sea turtle - Santa Rosa National Park - UNESCO ~

... Beautiful postcard of one of the most fascinating sea creatures... sea turtles have been around for about 100 million years and even witnessed the fall of the dinosaurs... Costa Rica is considered the birthplace of eco-tourism and its protected Pacific and Caribbean coastlines provide a haven for 5 of the world’s 7 species of sea turtle... but sadly all species of sea turtle are classified as endangered ( ⌣́,⌣̀)... hopefully sea turtle sanctuaries like this can save them... Thanks a lot Walter Rojas!!【ツ】

Photo: © Adrian Hepworth
Santa Rosa National Park is one of the oldest and largest national parks in Costa Rica (founded in 1971) spanning an area of 91,926 acres.  Located in the Guanacaste region, Santa Rosa National Park has two main sea turtle nesting beaches: Nancite and Naranjo. Playa Nancite is one of two sites in Costa Rica where the mass annual nesting called "Arribada " of olive ridley sea turtles take place. In early October, thousands of females come together on the same beach to lay eggs.

The olive ridley sea turtle are the smallest and most abundant of the marine turtles. The carapace of this turtle is olive coloured and relatively heart-shaped, whilst the undersurface is a greenish white. Found in tropical regions of the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, excluding the Caribbean.

Santa Rosa National park is part of the UNESCO site "Area de Conservación Guanacaste" . This property was inscribed in 1999 and was extended in 2004.

Stamps:

Volcanoes
(Issued 24-06-2004) 24. June

The 75th Anniversary of the National Association of Educators
(Issued 24-10-2017)