Fundraising night for sea turtle protection slated for Feb. 18

Siete Quillas Grupo Tortuguero San Juan are leading a community fundraising effort next month to protect leatherback turtles nesting in Puerta de Tierra, Condado and Ocean Park up to the Último Trolley.

With the objective of sharing the progress made in the protection of the endangered leatherback, the largest marine turtle in the world, the group is inviting the community to join in the celebration of the closing of the 2024 nesting season and the beginning of the arrival of the leatherbacks, from February to July of this year.

“Last year, we were visited by five leatherbacks that left 12 nests between Condado and Ocean Park, each with 60 to 100 eggs. Thanks to the protection of these nests and the beach, some 500 baby turtles were released and accompanied on their way to the sea,” said Hilda Benítez, founder and executive director of Siete Quillas. “It will take more than a decade for at least one of these baby turtles to return to our coast to nest on the beach where it was born.”