More than 6,000 olive ridley turtles nest in the year’s second mass arrival at Playa La Marinera

More than 6,000 olive ridley turtles have arrived at Panama’s Playa La Marinera for the second mass nesting event recorded this year. The reserve lies in the Tonosí district of Los Santos province.

A total of 6,105 turtles, known locally as tortugas lora, reached the protected area. The synchronized arrival, or arribada, occurs when thousands of females leave the ocean at the same time and come ashore to lay their eggs.

MiAMBIENTE technicians and park rangers are carrying out inspections in the nesting zone. Their work includes permanent monitoring, recording and measuring turtles, and protecting nests from wildlife predation and other external factors.

Playa La Marinera is regarded as the country’s most concentrated nesting site for olive ridley turtles. Previous individual arrivals there exceeded 9,000 turtles, while totals across a full reproductive cycle have reached tens of thousands.

The nearby Isla Cañas reserve, also in Tonosí, has historically recorded mass nesting events involving between 2,500 and 4,800 turtles per cycle. The Azuero region’s most active nesting season usually lasts from July to December.