On Costa Rica’s coast, jaguars are doing more than hunting. They’re helping sea turtles survive. As researcher Carolina Perez tracks nests with makeshift tools, she uncovers an unlikely balance between predator and prey.
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TRANSCRIPT
These 45 days mark a dangerous period for the baby turtles.
(bird squawks) As they incubate in the sand, relentless predators stalk them from above.
(birds squawking) (birds chirping) (ocean waves crashing) (birds chirping) On most nesting beaches, wild dogs, foxes and coyotes, so-called meso predators, plunder nests for the protein-packed eggs.
(birds chirping) (birds squawking) Using the tools of shoestring science, Carolina is trying to track how many of these nests will be raided.
[Narrator] The bottles make it easy to see if a nest has been disturbed.
(ocean waves crashing) During recent arribadas, the bottles have helped them document an encouraging trend that they believe is tied to the return of the jaguars.
(ocean waves crashing) - It seems the Jaguars are keeping smaller predators off the beach, inadvertently protecting the turtle's eggs.
As Carolina works, she's constantly aware of the jaguars presence in the dark.
(ocean waves crashing) (bird squawks) (footsteps tapping)