The endangered sea turtle sustained two large gashes, likely from harpoons used to catch it, along with injuries caused by cords used to tie it up. The turtle is undergoing treatment at the Jaguar Rescue Center in Puerto Viejo.
Santa Fe Island, in the Galapagos archipelago, is the former home to Chelonoidis sp, a subspecies of giant tortoise which died out after humans took a hefty toll on the ecosystem, beginning in the 18th century when pirates and buccaneers decimated the population.
A gang of more than 10 poachers carrying sticks, machetes and guns allegedly attacked the international volunteers on Pacuare beach, Sea Shepard Central America spokesman Jorge Serendero told The Tico Times on Friday.
Three of the suspects were acquitted of all charges on Jan. 26. The remaining four defendants were found guilty of raping and robbing a Costa Rican couple and their young nephews nearly two weeks before Mora’s murder.
The group is asking for volunteers to help patrol beaches against poachers in southeastern Florida, Honduras and Costa Rica. For the first time, the group will patrol Moín Beach in Costa Rica's Limón province, the beach where Mora was brutally killed in 2013.
MIAMI – Tens of thousands of endangered sea turtles die every year in the United States when they are inadvertently snared in shrimp nets, an environmental group alleged in a lawsuit filed Wednesday against the government.
The United Nations mission in Costa Rica released a statement Wednesday criticizing the acquittal of seven men accused of the murder of 26-year-old sea turtle conservationist Jairo Mora. The U.N. urged the Costa Rican government to rectify the case and convict those responsible for the slaying.
From its outset, the Jairo Mora murder trial – perhaps one of the most globally monitored Costa Rican trials in recent history – was fraught with egregious delays and mistakes. Here is a timeline of the errors and mishaps that – in the judges' own words – left no other choice but a not-guilty verdict for all seven defendants.
LIMÓN -- After three months of trial marked by continuous delays and setbacks, a Limón court on Monday morning acquitted seven men of the murder of 26-year-old sea turtle conservationist Jairo Mora on the night of May 31, 2013, citing reasonable doubt, discarded evidence and an ineffective investigation.
