Why are Drexelina and Sundae on land?

Many people are asking why Drexelina and Sundae are on land. They aren't really, they look like they are on land in the race because of the resolution of the computer graphics. They are actually swimming near shore. Go to the Topp.org site and you will see that they have been swimming along the coast of Costa Rica and have come back to the beach to nest several times. So they have decided to stay in the Race for Survival instead of the Great Turtle race. By laying another 3 or 4 nests they have produced another 180-240 eggs that will lead to another 70 to 100 hatchlings. They may get to the Galapagos later than the rest of the turtles, but they will have a better chance of leaving some turtles for the next generation.

Leatherback turtles have to lay between 500 and 1000 eggs to produce another adult female turtle. Only 39% of the eggs hatch and about 89% of the hatchlings reach the water past the array of predators on the beach. We hope that by protecting the beach, and moving clutches of eggs that are in danger of being washed away by the tides to safer places we can increase the number of hatchlings produced at Las Baulas Park and thus increase the number of leatherbacks over the next few years.

Thanks

Dr. Turtle