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A recent study published by the PLoS Biology Magazine written by Costa Rican, French and US scientists have officially confirmed several details about the Leatherback Turtle’s behavior.

The enormous Leatherback Turtle has returned to their place of birth year after year on the Costa Rican Northern Pacific Coast to reproduce.  This is where they begin their 7,000 kilometer journey and this is where they come back to nest their eggs.

Each turtle is believed to repeat their journey every 3 to 4 years.  The three most important nesting beaches in Costa Rica are Playa Grande, Playa Ventanas and Playa Langosta.  The leatherback’s nesting season takes place during the months of October through March.

During nesting season, each leatherback can lay approximately 66 eggs per sitting.  A single female leatherback turtle will go through at least 11 sittings per season.

The report also confirmed the biological marine corridor between Costa Rica’s Northern Pacific Coast and the Galapagos Island off the coast of Ecuador.  After the leatherback’s reproduction season, they travel back 3,500 kilometers within approximately 500 days until they reach the Galapagos Islands.

At the Galapagos Island, the leatherbacks rest and feed before scattering without a determined path throughout the South Pacific Sea off the South American Coast.

Research on the open sea behavior of the Pacific Leatherback Turtles began over 14 years ago with the purpose of shedding some light on what these turtles underwent in open seas.  Researches believe that with the gathered information, a more specific plan for their conservation will be successful.

The Leatherback population has decreased in an astonishing 90% over the last 20 years.  Conservationists groups as well as government authorities are called upon to join forces in preserving the species and hardening laws for those who hunt these turtles.