Tambrauw and the Leatherback Beaches

Among The Largest Leatherback Turtle Nesting Beaches Left In The Pacific, On The Coast Of A Regency That Formally Declared Itself A Conservation District · Sausapor, Southwest Papua

A LEATHERBACK IS THE LARGEST TURTLE ALIVE - two metres and more, no hard shell, a ridged leathery back, a body that crosses oceans and dives deeper than most whales. THE WESTERN PACIFIC POPULATION IS CRITICALLY ENDANGERED AND HAS COLLAPSED, and THE BEACHES AT JAMURSBA MEDI AND WERMON ON THIS COAST CARRY A LARGE SHARE OF WHAT REMAINS OF IT. Females haul out at night through much of the year, dig, lay and go back, and the monitoring here is one of the more important pieces of turtle conservation anywhere. TAMBRAUW REGENCY HAS DECLARED ITSELF A CONSERVATION REGENCY - a formal commitment to hold its forest rather than convert it, which in this part of Indonesia is a genuinely unusual position to take and is under constant pressure. It is HARD TO REACH, there is almost nothing for visitors, and the rules at the beach are absolute. No white light, no flash, no touching, never in front of a female - a disturbed turtle abandons the nest and goes back to the sea. Visits go through the teams.

Jamursba Medi and Wermon, Tambrauw, Southwest Papua, Sausapor, Southwest Papua, Indonesia

REACHED FROM SORONG OR MANOKWARI - a LONG, ROUGH DRIVE of many hours to SAUSAPOR and then on to the beaches, or by boat along the coast; ALL OF IT WEATHER-DEPENDENT and none of it quick. VISITS ARE ARRANGED THROUGH THE CONSERVATION MONITORING TEAMS AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES, not through any tour operation - THIS IS NOT A TICKETED SITE and turning up is not a plan. NESTING HAPPENS AT NIGHT and the two beaches have DIFFERENT PEAK PERIODS across the year; ask when arranging. THE RULES ARE ABSOLUTE AND ARE NOT NEGOTIABLE: NO WHITE LIGHT, NO FLASH, NO TOUCHING, NO STANDING IN FRONT OF A TURTLE, AND KEEP BACK AND BEHIND. A disturbed female will abandon the nesting attempt and return to the sea. Accommodation is very basic. MALARIA IS PRESENT. Bring cash.

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