Costa Rica Sea Turtle Experience with LAST

An extraordinary sea turtle experience awaits on Costa Rica’s wild Osa Peninsula, home to the Latin American Sea Turtles (LAST) Association—an initiative supported by international conservation organizations, including The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, and Conservation International. LAST takes a holistic and comprehensive approach to sea turtle conservation by gathering important population and life history data, conducting coral reef research, and implementing studies aimed at enhancing mangrove habitats and the sea grass beds where turtles feed, among other important initiatives. The organization also takes in injured animals and nurses them back to health before eventually returning them to their native Pacific habitat. All species of sea turtles are considered endangered or threatened and are highly susceptible to human and environmental threats—and all are in urgent need of global protection. On Lindblad Expedition-National Geographic’s Costa Rica & the Panama Canal voyage, travelers will have the opportunity to learn about and lend a hand with LAST’s critical efforts to conserve the hawksbill sea turtle:

• Assist and observe researchers as they monitor and collect data from hawksbill sea turtles that have come to Playa Blanca to nest (conditions permitting).
• Hear talks from the LAST researchers—including the program’s head biologist—who join us on board to share recent findings from their research.

Your participation in this immersive experience helps fund LAST’s efforts to research and preserve this critically endangered species.