Red lamps at Tortuguero sent fewer turtle hatchlings inland
The Tico Times reported that 15 percent of green turtle hatchlings crawled toward white artificial light in a study there, and 5 percent did so under red lamps.
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Hatchlings on Costa Rica's Caribbean coast find the sea by crawling toward the brightest horizon. The Tico Times reported on October 25, 2026, that porch lights, hotel signs, and street lamps can outshine the water and pull them inland, onto roads or private land.
At Tortuguero, a Duke University analysis of light levels found fewer green turtles coming ashore on the brightest stretches near the village. In March 2023 the Costa Rican Electricity Institute installed 71 red lamps there. A later study of green turtle hatchlings, the paper said, found that 15 percent crawled toward artificial light under white lamps, compared with 5 percent under red light.
The newspaper's account is a comparison of two kinds of light, plus a record of lamps already in the ground. It does not say the village has gone dark, or that every hatchling now reaches the surf. Red light reduced the wrong-way crawls in that study. White light, and a bright waterfront, are still the problem the researchers describe.
For the classroom
The Tico Times reported on October 25, 2026, that lights on the beach can confuse baby sea turtles in Costa Rica. Hatchlings usually crawl toward the bright horizon over the sea. A porch light or a sign can look brighter and pull them inland. At Tortuguero, a study of green turtle hatchlings found that 15 percent crawled toward white artificial light, and 5 percent did so when the lamps were red. In March 2023, the electricity institute put in 71 red lamps there. Fewer mothers nested on the brightest stretch near the village. Red lamps helped in that study. They do not turn every light off.
- Why do baby turtles crawl toward the brightest part of the sky?
- How is a red lamp different from a white lamp for a hatchling?
- Where is Tortuguero, and why do sea turtles nest there?
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