Sacred Bones offers courses on sea turtles, sharks, tigers, grizzly bears, Amazon parrots and macaws, orcas, elephants, and other imperiled species. Journeys can include travel to Costa Rica, Viet Nam, Alaska, Africa, and the Caribbean.
Our first Sacred Bones journey centers on the the Hawksbill Sea Turtle.
Sea turtles have their origins in the fossil record more than 100 million years ago..
They travel across vast distances measuring thousands of miles to return and lay their eggs at their place of birth. The Caribbean shores of Costa Rica and the Gulf and Atlantic shores of the southeastern United States are among the ancient nesting grounds of the Hawksbill Sea Turtle, a species that today survives only in remnants of the teeming millions that once plied the Caribbean Sea. Hawksbills, like all sea turtles, are a victim of human depredation (hunting for shells, skins, meat, oil, and eggs), deadly fishing nets, and coastal development.
The stories of sea turtles and indigenous peoples elsewhere are much the same, yet the link between the extirpation of tribal humans and animals is rarely recognized. Human inhabitants who shared the coasts and waters with sea turtles also shared similar fates. In the 1830s, members of the Five Civilized Tribes—the Choctaw, Cherokee, Chickataw, Seminole, and Muscogee-Creek Nations—were forcibly removed from their homelands in the United States. Thousands perished from exposure, starvation, and disease. This relocation, referred to as the Trail of Tears, took a ghastly toll. Other coastal people such as the Bri Bri (Costa Rica) also suffered from colonialism.
Each journey is divided into three learning segments: Remembrance, Return, and Renewal.
Learners may choose one of two Hawksbill Sea Turtle "learning paths," the Five Civilized Tribes Path or the Costa Rica Tribes Path.
The paths have been designed to accommodate the needs of learners who choose to make their journeys virtually and online.
Sea turtles are among the world's most imperiled wildlife. Once abundant populations in the Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans have dwindled due to human exploitation and human-caused degradation of their habitat. Despite several decades of conservation efforts, these species, whose ancestors date back over 100 million years, remain at risk.
Photo: Jordan T. Wilkerson
Basic Biology Sea turtles are among the world's largest reptiles. The smallest species (the Kemp's ridley) reaches 2 to 2½ feet in length and weighs 80 to 100 pounds. The largest – the leatherback – can be 4 to 8 feet in length and weigh 700 to 2,000 pounds.
Sea turtles spend almost their entire lives in the sea. They come to the surface often to breathe when active, but can remain underwater for several hours while resting.
Sea turtles inhabit all of the world's oceans except the Arctic; most live in warm tropical and subtropical waters.
Female sea turtles come ashore to lay their eggs. They cover them with sand before returning to the water. The hatchlings that emerge make their way up through the sand and then scurry to the water.
Sea turtles are highly migratory; they travel long distances and routinely traverse the waters of more than one country over their lifetimes.
Six of the world's seven sea turtle species (all but the flatback turtle) can be found in U.S. and Mexican waters.
Protected Status All seven sea turtle species are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) – a global agreement through which the United States and more than 170 other nations work together to safeguard animal and plant resources from unsustainable trade.
The hawksbill, Kemp's ridley, and leatherback sea turtles are considered Critically Endangered throughout their global ranges. Endangered means that a species is considered at risk of extinction if causal factors continue.
Illegal Take and Trade Human use of sea turtles has played a major role in the decline of sea turtle populations. Hawksbills, for example, are particularly prized for their shell, which is fashioned into products that include combs, brushes, eyeglass frames, jewelry, musical instrument picks, instrument bow parts, and furniture inlay.
Sea turtles are caught and killed for their meat. Conservationists estimate that some 35,000 sea turtles are consumed annually in California and Baja California.
*Adapted from Sea Turtles: Global Species at Risk. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and WIDECAST.