WildBlog - Stories of Wildlife Conservation Travel

On Friday, May 31, while returning from a long night walking a turtle nesting beach near the city of Limón, young Costa Rican conservationist Jairo Mora Sandoval was abducted by unknown assailants, beaten and murdered. The beach where Mora Sandoval worked is a hot spot for nesting by the critically endangered leatherback, but also well-known for poaching and as a transfer point for drugs entering Costa Rica. This beach has now become a flash point for the direction that Costa Rica will go as a country.

The awful news about the murder of Costa Rican sea turtle conservationist Jairo Mora Sandoval has shocked the world. Jairo was a brave young conservationist working hard to protect an important leatherback turtle nesting beach called Moin Beach, near the port city of Limon on the Caribbean coast. The beach was well-known both as a place for poachers to collect turtle eggs and a key location for drugs to enter Costa Rica. Along with Jairo, four volunteers from the US and Spain were locked into an abandoned house and robbed (they later escaped unharmed).

Global Vision International (GVI) is not simply a tour operator or a volunteer organization; it is a unique combination of the two, offering global citizens the opportunity to contribute to one of over 150 different international wildlife projects. What's more, GVI strives to produce long-term, positive results through sustainable projects.

World Oceans Day is almost upon us, and accordingly we have a list of suggestions for how to get involved. It is a little late to book a plane ticket for June 8, but never fear: you are in the world, aren't you? Then you can help wherever you are!

"Magic bullets" in the world of science are rare at best, and often raise a skeptical eyebrow. However, the occasional pearl appears, offering a way to combat waves of environmental problems. The new concept of blue carbon offsets is one such gem: a key to combating climate change, as well as a means of restoring key coastal habitat.

We at SEE Turtles/SEEtheWILD are deeply saddened and heartbroken by the murder of Costa Rican conservationist Jairo Mora Sandoval. Our condolences go out to his family, friends, and colleagues. Each of us has walked Costa Rica’s beaches with the pure-hearted goal he shared -- to help protect sea turtles -- and the loss of such a dedicated young man will be mourned by our family of sea turtle conservationists and ocean advocates around the world.

SEEtheWILD has a number of travel partners that offer trips literally all around the world. Each travel company contributes to the conservation of local wildlife species, but only one offers classic tall ship tours to some of the most beautiful places in both British Columbia and Alaska. From spirit bears to orcas, Maple Leaf Adventures provides travelers the opportunity to see some of the most spectacular species of animals in the world. All of this takes place in the company of experienced guides and naturalists, while also making a positive impact on the ecosystems that are visited.

Looking to give something back during your next vacation? If you’re an animal lover, consider a volunteer vacation that focuses on the wildlife of your chosen destination. 

Last year, the Marine Megafauna Foundation won the SEEtheWILD contest worth $3,000. With 1,236 votes for MMF on Facebook, we were overwhelmed by the amazing support for our conservation efforts in Mozambique.  But what were these funds exactly used for?

The grant went towards my PhD project, entitled ‘Habitat use and movement patterns of the reef manta ray, Manta alfredi”, aims to gather information on movements and habitat use of manta rays along this very productive coastline. However, the reef manta ray population here has been very hard hit. With an 88% decline in manta ray sightings over an eight-year study period, more information on these enigmatic fish is needed. By using intricate tagging technologies to find out where these mantas go, we hope to be able to better protect them.

Manta alfredi, the smaller of the two manta ray species grows to about 5 meters wide and appears to be resident to the southern Mozambican coastline.

"What region of the earth is not full of our calamities?"