Jeanne and Floris only stayed for a couple more nights, so to have seen most of Suriname, we were heading to the coast to find ourselves some sea turtles. Going with the boat to Johanna Margareta again, where we went last week Tuesday to catch caimans, we went on another boat through the swamp to Matapica. This hammock hut is located on the beach, about 10km from Braamspunt. We went for a walk along the shore immediately, and found a nest which was below the floodline and fully exposed to the Sun and rising water. Reptile eggs absorb, rather than insolate like bird eggs do. Therefore when the tide rises each day, the eggs absorb water, suffocating the embryos. The sand that once had covered this nest, has been washed away by the water, which made us assume the worst. Thinking that all embryos were suffocated, Dick opened one of the eggs to show the group what an embryo sea turtle looks like. To his surprise (and ours!) it contained a fully developed and alive baby sea turtle, with a little ‘egg yolk’ sac (food source of embryos). So even though these eggs had been exposed to such extremes, they had survived! Making sure that the next spring tide wasn’t going to kill all eggs, we decided to collect all eggs and place them more inland, making sure the water couldn’t get that high. After digging and burying these eggs, we found more nests exposed to the bright sunlight and high tides. Assuming that these might still be alive too, we started digging up and burying all nests found below the floodline, which were in total 487 eggs! Hopefully these baby sea turtles will make it to the sea in time before the vultures get to them. Further along the shore, we see what catastrophic consequence the presence of vultures has on the nests. Little shells, emptied eggs, and dug out nests were found everywhere. This sad situation, made us realize how tough nature can be on the new born.
That night we finally spotted leatherbacks! When we went to Braamspunt, we had seen plenty of green sea turtles, but were too early for leatherbacks (still is, normally they arrive end of May). We were very fortunate to have spotted so many turtles that night. But became even luckier, when Dick spotted a Margay staring at us whilst we walked along the shore back to camp. I, however, have been very unlucky when it comes down to cat species; I have not seen any yet.
The next morning, we went for a walk with just the two of us, and were able to scare of some vultures that were digging up a nest already. That’s when we noticed that the Margay of the night before wasn’t alone; two sets of paw prints were found along the shore! Next time, we should pay more attention to the shrubs, and not just the turtles.
On our way back to Johanna Margareta, we passed through the swamp again. First, we passed the dense mangrove forests, which smelled a lot like the Sulphur or bad eggs. But right behind the mangrove, the swamp turns into large floating plateaus of grass with shrubs and dead trees. This is definitely a bird paradise, when looking at the amounts of birds present; ranging from small kingfishers to vultures.
That night we finally spotted leatherbacks! When we went to Braamspunt, we had seen plenty of green sea turtles, but were too early for leatherbacks (still is, normally they arrive end of May). We were very fortunate to have spotted so many turtles that night. But became even luckier, when Dick spotted a Margay staring at us whilst we walked along the shore back to camp. I, however, have been very unlucky when it comes down to cat species; I have not seen any yet.
The next morning, we went for a walk with just the two of us, and were able to scare of some vultures that were digging up a nest already. That’s when we noticed that the Margay of the night before wasn’t alone; two sets of paw prints were found along the shore! Next time, we should pay more attention to the shrubs, and not just the turtles.
On our way back to Johanna Margareta, we passed through the swamp again. First, we passed the dense mangrove forests, which smelled a lot like the Sulphur or bad eggs. But right behind the mangrove, the swamp turns into large floating plateaus of grass with shrubs and dead trees. This is definitely a bird paradise, when looking at the amounts of birds present; ranging from small kingfishers to vultures.