-"Menghayati!"

has been made possible by...

The Safina Center -- Making the case for life on Earth.

And Avalon Nature Preserve -- Connecting communities to nature since 2002.

The Peter H. Warny Conservation Fund -- Celebrating the life of Peter H. Warny through supporting this program and conservation projects worldwide.

Additional support comes from... Utalii Peer To Peer Tourism -- Providing personalized tour experiences to tourists worldwide.

The Institute for the Conservation of Tropical Environments and Centre ValBio -- Saving wildlife and habitats through research, community, and conservation.

EFG-Renascence Productions -- A unique, next-generation studio that broadens our mind by connecting us through films.

-Menghayati!

♪♪ -Are you ready to follow your dreams, have fun, meet amazing animals, amazing people and help our planet?

If that sounds like something you want to do, then we're right here in Playa Grande, Costa Rica.

Let's go!

-♪ It's time to step outside ♪ It's time to follow your dreams ♪ ♪ It's time to step into nature and see things you never seen ♪ ♪ A quest to love our planet ♪ Like snakes, it's time to uncurl ♪ ♪ The bees and frogs are in danger ♪ ♪ Let's go around the world -♪ Let's go -In our previous episode, we were in Cocles, Costa Rica, to meet amazing creatures that live among the trees there.

We also got a chance to meet our scientist, Dr. Becky, who radio-tracked our Secret Creature and learned how they live with humans along the Caribbean coast.

In today's episode, we're visiting the black-sand beaches of Playa Grande in Cahuita, Costa Rica.

There, we're gonna meet our Secret Creature... ...amazing wildlife, and a dedicated team of community members that help create a rescue that saves thousands of our Secret Creature every year.

So if you're ready, let's go!

Welcome to "Menghayati!"

where you get to discover creatures and cultures from around the world.

And remember, the word "menghayati" means to have a deep, loving connection to all living things.

In today's episode, we're in Playa Grande, Costa Rica, to meet a creature that lives in the sea!

And this creature is really, really awesome.

However, before we get a chance to meet it, we're gonna learn a bit more about Playa Grande, Costa Rica, and how you get here.

So if you're ready, let's go!

Playa Grande is one of two black-sand beaches located in Cahuita, Costa Rica.

The word "playa" means beach, and "grande" means big.

[ Elephant trumpets ] Playa Grande, Cahuita, is located in the province of Limon and the canton of Talamanca.

These black-sand beaches are beautiful, with coastal beach forest and coral reefs directly off its shores.

And, of course, amazing wildlife that use the beach forests and the sea as their homes.

The early settlers to the area of Cahuita mostly came from Jamaica and lived off the sea.

Because of this, they had a true understanding of the local wildlife, medicinal plants, and trees there.

They also worked with the locals and the indigenous Bribri people.

If you visit here, you can visit restaurants, lodges, and even volunteer to help wildlife with local guides and, of course, learn the most famous phrase in Costa Rica.

-Pura vida.

-Pura vida, Costa Rica.

Cahuita!

[ Laughs ] -Pura vida.

-Pura vida.

-Pura vida, Costa Rica!

-Pura vida!

Now that we learned about Playa Grande, Cahuita, it's almost time to meet our Secret Creature.

♪♪ ♪♪ [ Squawking ] All right, everybody, now it's almost time to guess our Secret Creature.

Is it, "A," the leatherback sea turtle, "B," the humpback whale, "C," the hawksbill sea turtle, or "D," the great white shark?

Big thanks to our friends in Playa Grande that made it possible for us to see so many animals.

And now it's time to see some out in the wild.

The humpback whale is a magnificent creature that can weigh over 40 tons.

It has a streamlined body with giant flippers that make it possible for it to move through the sea with ease.

They also migrate over 2,000 miles to the feeding grounds to eat tons of fish every day.

This gives them tons of energy to migrate and give birth to their young in the warm, shallow seas.

[ Whale calls ] The leatherback sea turtle is the largest turtle on our planet and can weigh up to 2,000 pounds.

These giants spend most of their lives at sea and, like the humpback whale, have giant pectoral flippers to help them swim through the ocean with ease.

They also love to eat lots of jellyfish.

This gives them lots of energy to mate and for the females to come to the beach to lay hundreds of eggs every two to three years.

The hawksbill sea turtle can be found in the Caribbean seas and, like the leatherback sea turtle, spends most of their lives out at sea.

These turtles leave the sea only to lay their eggs, and thanks to the Cahuita National Park and programs worldwide, their population is increasing and the next generation of baby turtles is looking like they're ready to thrive.

The great white shark can be found in many places worldwide and is the largest shark on our planet.

The largest great white sharks can grow more than 20 feet long.

Although great white sharks can be dangerous when they're hunting, fortunately for other creatures, their primary food is seals.

And, like leatherback sea turtles and humpback whales, they migrate thousands of miles to the feeding grounds and to give birth to their babies.

-Mama, Mama, Mama.

-Which animal do you think it is?

♪♪ [ Rustling ] ♪♪ -And the Secret Creature is...

The leatherback sea turtle is one of the most amazing turtles on our planet.

It can grow over 6 feet long and weigh over 2,000 pounds, and has been around since the time of the dinosaurs.

It also has huge pectoral fins that make it possible for it to paddle through the ocean for thousands of miles each year.

It is also one of only two types of turtles that does not have scutes.

The other one is the softshell turtle.

These types of turtles, instead of having scutes, have a bony shell that's covered by thick, leathery skin.

It also has a sharp beak and jaws that it uses to catch its favorite food, which is jellyfish.

Along with that, they have a mouth that's covered with spikes on the inside so the slippery jellyfish don't escape.

They also have rear flippers that help to streamline their body as they navigate themselves through the water.

These turtles have been around for thousands of years since the time of dinosaurs, and that's why we've chosen the leatherback sea turtle as our Secret Creature.

And now it's time to see some leatherback sea turtles out in the wild.

♪♪ One day, I was on my third trip to Costa Rica, and I was so excited because my friend Gravin suggested that I visit Fernando at the wildlife Lodge because there were so many frogs, snakes, and creatures there.

After arriving there, Fernando showed me his amazing lodge.

Then I asked him, "We are so close to the beach.

Are there sea turtles here?"

We're at the nesting beach for the leatherback sea turtle.

[ Turtles singing ] And the turtle rescue is just a few doors down.

What?!

I was so excited.

I jumped on my bike, rode to the rescue, met the team... -Bye.

-Bye.

...and after about two weeks of walking, I saw my first leatherback sea turtle.

-Mama, Mama, Mama!

-This was the first time many of us had ever seen a wild leatherback sea turtle, and it was absolutely amazing!

The Turtle Rescue of Cahuita is located at Playa Grande and ensures that the nesting turtles can safely lay their eggs.

♪♪ These awesome people created and voluntarily run the Turtle Rescue of Cahuita, and teamed up with the local community and international volunteers to ensure the survival of this species and to keep the rescue going.

[ Turtle snorts ] Since they started, they've released over 15,000 turtles back to the Caribbean Sea.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-We're gonna meet the team and more turtles and learn how they incubate the eggs and help bring this species back from the brink of extinction.

-Hello.

-Now it's time for "Creature Craft."

-Everybody, it's the Art Nanny here.

Let's make a sculpture of a sea turtle out of a paper bag.

-Hello!

-Got our lids, our paper bag, and some warm water.

The first thing you want to do is take your paper bag and rip it up into different pieces.

And we're gonna put it inside the warm water and let it soak for awhile.

Oh, it's gonna get a completely different texture, and it's gonna allow us to mold it.

I'm gonna leave it in there for a few minutes to let it soak.

Okay.

Once we're ready, I'm gonna choose my cover.

Take out my paper.

I'm gonna crumple it up.

Ooh.

Squeeze all the water out.

And it's completely up to you to be creative.

You want to take it out and rip it and just keep adding layer upon layer, squishing the water out so it becomes one piece again.

I built the bottom of the turtle first and then his shell as a separate piece.

Once I was finished, I put him in a spot that can dry in the sunshine.

I'm gonna make sure that he's really stuck together.

Some glue to make sure that he was safe.

Just perfect.

Okay, now it's up to you to be creative.

Use paint or crayons or markers.

I'm gonna use just a black pen.

Give him an eye.

-Hello.

-Give him some dots.

[ Laughs ] Okay.

And I'm gonna give him some more dots over here because they have scales.

They're reptiles, right?

Fun.

You can decorate him however you like.

If you have some different colors, if you want to give him fins, you can make him tropical.

It's really up to you.

He's so charming.

I wonder what other animals we could make?

♪♪ Goes all the shell.

♪♪ [ Gasps ] I hope that you guys enjoyed making your sea turtles today.

I wonder what other animals you can make out of paper bags and water and glue?

Ah!

And remember, never stop being creative.

He's so cool.

[ Animals calling ] -Thank you.

-Big thanks to the Art Nanny for that paper bag turtle artwork.

And now it's time to meet a special artist right here in Costa Rica.

Hey, you guys.

So we're here with Luna, and she actually created this amazing store and this amazing shirt from turtles.

And so right now, she's gonna explain us how she did it.

So can you share with everybody, how did you make this shirt and tell us about your store and all the amazing artwork you do with clothes.

-Okay.

Hi.

Hi.

Yes, this is actually a print that is made taking a photograph of the inside of a turtle shell that we found on the beach.

And then I took a photograph of it and enlarged it, and it looks like this labyrinth.

-Wow!

-But to me, it looks like he's saying something, you know.

-Wow.

-So when you see -- I don't know.

Let's look at your back.

-Mm-hmm.

-You will see that you can see the scales.

So one of them is the inverse of the other.

And that's what creates this pattern, you know?

-Wow.

That's amazing.

-And...

Yes, they have lots of knowledge.

They carry so much wisdom with them, you know, and compassion.

When you see a turtle's eye... -Yes.

-...they know, you know?

So hopefully, like, it will give us some wisdom, too.

-Yes, yes.

'Cause we need it.

-Stay tuned.

In just a few moments, we're gonna meet our friends at Cahuita Turtle Rescue, lots of baby turtles, and our Specialist.

♪♪ -Pura vida.

-All right, everybody, now it's time for our brief Intermission.

In today's Intermission, I want to remind you all about being of service.

It's super-duper important to always be of service, just like the Turtle Rescue of Cahuita folks have been by marching on the beach every single night, like we'll see in a minute.

And also, you can be of service by just picking up trash in your neighborhood and doing many, many things.

And as you can see, there's a garbage pail right here that came from the Turtle Rescue of Cahuita to remind people to be of service and always do your best to keep our environment clean.

And with that said, we're about to go on our Species Adventure.

So if you're ready, let's go!

During my first trip to the Turtle Rescue of Cahuita, I got a chance to meet some of the team.

That's Shalton, Isabelle, and Roberto.

They explained to me how they went from zero turtles hatching on the beach... ...to thousands of turtles hatching every single year.

They did this by receiving a special permit from the Costa Rican government that allowed them to create a special nursery just for sea turtles.

They also arranged community beach cleanups and created signs to mark the locations of turtles and nests... -Pura vida!

-...and did morning and night walks to recover the eggs of nesting turtles.

And there's Samuel and Ronaldo with a bag full of eggs to be incubated in the turtle nursery.

Thanks to their hard work and dedication, we were lucky enough to witness the recovery of a nest and have a chance to measure and tag a giant female leatherback.

After she was tagged, we watched her crawl safely back to the sea, and 90 days later, we got another super-duper surprise.

-Thank you.

-Hey, you guys.

So right now, they're painting the signs for the turtles right now to make sure that they can mark exactly where they found the eggs.

And so there's the team right there doing it.

And they're helping prepare.

So it's really important to volunteer.

So let's check out what they're doing right now.

This is Exton.

He's part of the Turtle Rescue team of Cahuita.

He walks at least one night a week with a team of local and international volunteers to locate nests and to find and tag turtles.

This is really important because currently, leatherback sea turtles are an endangered species.

♪♪ Special Message!

So the Turtle Rescue team is out at nighttime and during the day to look for turtle eggs.

When they're out at nighttime, they use a special light to ensure that the turtles are not disturbed.

White light can disturb the turtles and confuse them and keep them from laying their eggs, and in fact, the offspring, the babies, the eggs -- when they hatch, they'll actually move towards white light, and so it's really important to make sure you always use a red light at nighttime when observing nocturnal animals.

And now it's time to get back to the turtles.

This is Shalton.

He's currently the president of the Turtle Rescue of Cahuita.

There, he's explaining to volunteers how to properly clean the sand for the nesting leatherback sea turtles.

That's Annie.

She's making sure that the arriving turtle eggs and future hatchlings have clean, fresh sand.

-Hi.

I'm Annie.

We are cleaning sand for the turtle nursery so that all the bacteria from the beach is washed away so that the turtles have a nice, clean place to hatch.

-Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you!

-Once they hatch, they're weighed and measured and returned to the nest box just before release.

That's Mar.

She's making sure that all the measurements are recorded correctly.

Now it's almost time for them to have their first swim in the sea.

They're the ones who are gonna -- the first ones.

Time for another Special Message!

Now, in just a few moments, we're gonna get a chance to see the Turtle Rescue of Cahuita and the community bring those baby turtles back to the wild.

Now, remember, if you ever see a baby turtle or an adult turtle or any animal that's in distress, remember to call your local wildlife rescue team.

And now it's time to get back to the baby turtles.

And there's Roberto with the volunteer team and our first hatchling of 2023.

What made this even more special is that this hatchling came from the first female to lay her eggs in 2023 that had a rear missing flipper.

Most leatherbacks lay their eggs at night.

In the following weeks, many of the nests in the turtle nursery began to hatch, and the Turtle Rescue of Cahuita team began to bring those babies back to the wild and invite the community to see these babies go on their first journey into the sea.

[ Indistinct conversations ] ♪♪ -Now it's time for a "Creature Quiz."

-How big can leatherback turtles get?

-How big do leatherback sea turtles get?

This is a great question.

From the first time they enter the sea, they keep growing and growing and growing.

The shell of leatherback sea turtles can grow to be more than 6 feet long.

And as you can see here, the Turtle Rescue of Cahuita team is measuring the shell.

They can also grow to be more than 2,000 pounds.

2,000 pounds is a ton, and that's as heavy as a compact car.

[ Car horns honk ] Everybody, now it's time for our a leatherback sea turtle "Creature Quiz."

And the first question is...

If you guessed up to 6 feet long, you're absolutely right.

The leatherback sea turtle shell can grow bigger than 6 feet, and they can weigh more than 2,000 pounds.

Question number two...

If you guessed "D," jellyfish, then you're absolutely right.

The leatherback sea turtle is specialized in eating jellyfish.

They even have special claws inside their throat... [ Turtle belches ] ...that help them swallow the jellyfish.

Question number three...

If you guessed "A," the Cahuita Turtle Rescue, then you're absolutely right.

The Cahuita Turtle Rescue rescues lots of turtles and helps to save thousands of turtles a year from being eaten by seagulls and being poached.

Question number four...

If you guessed the black beach and Playa Grande, then you're absolutely right.

That's where the leatherback sea turtles go to lay their eggs -- only on the black beach.

That's where they lay their eggs, because the sand is just right, and there's some magnetic, really cool things inside that sand that they might like.

Who knows?

Anyway, that's our final question.

And now it's almost time to meet our Specialist.

♪♪ Release turtles back to the wild, meet adult leatherback sea turtles, and learn about how they're working together to be of service to this amazing species.

And now it's time to "Meet the Specialist."

♪♪ Today's Specialist is Shalton Mullins and the Turtle Rescue team of Cahuita.

Thanks to all their hard work and dedication and working with the community, the leatherback sea turtle is making a comeback along the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica.

In fact, there was a period of time when there were no hatchlings on the beach in Playa Grande, and now they're releasing over 3,000 hatchlings every single year back to the sea.

And without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to the Turtle Rescue team of Cahuita.

-Hello.

My name is Shalton.

I'm the president of the Turtle Rescue Cahuita.

Our job started in -- back in 2019.

We've been rescuing turtles every single year.

So we have the privilege of receiving these big leatherbacks.

They could measure around 2 meters.

And we have been having the privilege of receiving these turtles in Playa Grande here in Cahuita, Costa Rica.

And we will have been rescuing because, sadly, there is a lot of situation that is not benefit for the turtles, and Turtle Rescue Cahuita has been since '19 -- 2019 -- rescuing and, you know, rescuing eggs, releasing babies back to the nature.

-And what a fantastic job they've done, recovering over 30 nests a year and working together with the community to release [echoing] over 10,000 turtles.

♪♪ -Hi, everyone.

My name is Samuel.

I work at the Turtle Rescue Cahuita.

Um, my principal task is to work at nighttime with, uh, tourists and show them, hopefully, a turtle.

Last night we saw two turtles.

So that was a great night.

We actually got 118 eggs, which I'm very proud of.

Over here, we have sand bags, so we have to clean sand.

We have to put them into bags.

So it's a whole process.

There's a lot of protocols that we need to follow.

And, yeah, with help of Erik and other people, it's, uh, yeah, very worth it.

-As you can see, this team is dedicated to service and to ensure that this creature lives long into the future.

And they have one last thing to say.

-Pura vida, pura vida, pura vida!

-Pura vida!

-Pura vida!

-Thank you all for watching and remember to always follow your dreams, do what you love, be of service, and enjoy nature.

Bye for now!

♪ It's time to step outside ♪ It's time to follow your dreams ♪ ♪ It's time to step into nature and see things you never seen ♪ ♪ A quest to love our planet ♪ Like snakes, it's time to uncurl ♪ ♪ The bees and frogs are in danger ♪ ♪ Let's go around the world -♪ Let's go ♪♪ [ Bird caws ] ♪♪