When can I see Turtles Nesting on Sao Tome and Principe?
Turtle nesting season across the beaches of Sao Tome and Principe starts in November and runs right through to February. Because the incubation period is about 2 months, late January through to the end of March tends to be when you see hatchlings making a bid for the ocean. Turtles lay their eggs at night and the hatchlings will usually crawl out from their nests under the cover darkness. However, a few stragglers can be seen in the daytime too.
The four turtle species nesting on Sao Tome and Principe
There are seven turtle species on our planet and four come to nest on the beaches of Sao Tome and Principe. These are: the Olive Ridley, Green, Hawkesbill, and Leatherback turtle. When females depart the nest, the eggs become rather vulnerable to feral dogs and wild boar on the islands, not to mention the swooping kestrel once they’ve hatched.
Why am I most likely to see an Olive Ridley nesting?
The Olive Ridley is famed for a nesting behaviour referred to as Arribada . This is where they gather off-shore in groups, then hundreds or even thousands of them will swarm the beaches to dig their nests. Observing this nesting phenomenon is particularly magical because there are just so many of them! The hatchlings mimic this synchronicity and depart the nest as a group, so you’ll often see lots of them! They have a temporary tooth called a caruncle, used for breaking out of the egg, and they are guided to the shoreline by the gleam of the moon on the water. If you can visit during turtle season, it’s certainly an experience not to be missed.
How long have turtles come to the beaches of Sao Tome and Principe?
The twin Islands of Sao Tome and Principe lie off the west coast of central Africa. They were first discovered by Portuguese explorers in the late 15th century and a long history of occupation ensued until the islands were granted independence in 1975, becoming an African Island Country. But all of this is a very brief history when you compare it to the fact that turtles, or at least their reptilian ancestors, have been around for over 230 million years, surviving extinctions that wiped out the dinosaurs. And it’s kind of easy to imagine it too, because Sao Tome’s landscape can look rather Jurassic when you head into the mountains!
Nesting behaviours
When female turtles arrive onto the beaches to nest, they return to the location where they were born. They dig a hole with their back flippers, lay their eggs, then cover the nest with sand before departing. After a two month incubation period, hatchlings will predominantly exit the nest at night. Their journey to the ocean is fraught with danger and leaving as a group under the cover of darkness partially negates some of the risks .
Night excursions and hatcheries
Depending on the time of your visit, we can book a variety of experiences for you. With an expert guide, you can visit the beaches at night to observe turtles laying their eggs. You can also monitor the hatchlings on their journey to the ocean, ensuring that they don’t get snaffled by some brutish predator! It’s important to remember that the hatchlings must journey across the sand unassisted. This is when they ‘imprint’, meaning that they have a memory of where they were born and will return to that same beach when it’s their time to nest.
Some fun facts about turtles
They have a similar life span to humans but only about 1 in 1000 hatchlings will survive into adulthood. Fortunately, turtles lay around 100 to 200 eggs in each nest, and often several clutches during one season. The leatherback turtle, famously known for its soft leathery shell, is the largest of the turtle species. A leatherback can weighed as much as 11 men! Warm sands tend to produce female hatchlings, while cooler sands will produce males.
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