Costa Rica Getaway - The Call of the Ocean

When the god Sibo created the world, he pondered what was missing

He asked his friend Thunder for advice

Thunder suggested something beautiful and magical

Sibo thought long and hard, and created a wife for him and called her C

But one day, she refused to listen to the commands of the two men

Empowered by her newfound freedom, she evaded her guard

But a magic snake bit her, and C seemingly died

A huge tree sprang up from her grave, and like a beautiful butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, the water world and all the creatures of the sea emerged from the tree

At that very moment, Sibo realized that the sea, with all its denizens, was the amazing, amazing peace of the world

Costa Rica

Its coastline is just as sought after as the unbridled nature on land

Four hundred and seventy-five thousand hectares of water in this tiny country are protected by the The water along the coast here is perfect for olive Ridley turtle rendezvous

The females return to mate at the same beach where they were hatched and where they will lay their own eggs

It's four in the morning

We head to the beach full of anticipation

They are wanderers of the oceans, traveling thousands of kilometers to lay their eggs on their home beach

One of the most important nesting sites is Ostianal on the Pacific coast

It is famous for the arebada, which means arrival from the sea in Spanish

During the arebada, up to 10,000 turtles swim to this section of the beach, which is about 800 meters long, to lay their eggs

The females dig a nest into the sand into which they deposit around 100 eggs

During one reproductive period, which lasts about a month, they don't swim far and can lay up to three clutches of eggs

Unfortunately, because of the construction of tourist resorts, there are fewer and fewer natural beaches left in the world, giving the turtles fewer and fewer places to nest

Because of this, it often happens that when laying another clutch, they destroy another turtle's nest in eggs, sometimes even their own, only a few days old

Black vultures, turtle egg connoisseurs, prepare for the feast

The olive ridley turtle hides its nest as best it can, but sometimes all of its efforts are for nothing

There are many egg collectors, despite the fact that trade in turtle eggs is prohibited, destroying their nests

Since 1987, Ostendon has been exempt from the ban on gathering and selling turtle eggs

For the local impoverished community, it's a traditional livelihood that they don't want to give up

What's more, it's been scientifically proven that the hatching rate is extremely low due to the high nesting activity and the spread of bacterial infections in the sand during the Arepada, which is the real cause of the loss of most clutches

It may seem that vultures are the worst offenders when it comes to destroying turtle nests, but in reality, they're just scavengers

They feed largely on eggs that have been broken or eaten by feral dogs, cotists, or pigs, but primarily by humans, collectors, and dealers

How exciting

In the open ocean, olive ridley turtles have no natural enemies

Intensive fishing is a big problem for them, as they often get caught in trawl nets

Also, throughout their lives they are more susceptible to disease because of weakened immunity caused by marine pollution

And another constant threat is hunting for their meat and shells

This school of big-eyed trevelies is in constant motion

It's also a way to attract prey into their midst

Spiny lobsters are well equipped for their over 10 million years of existence in the ocean

This school of big-eyed trevelies is a way to attract prey into their midst

This school of big-eyed trevelies is a way to attract prey into their midst

This school of big-eyed trevelies is a way to attract prey into their midst

The crown of thorn starfish is beautiful, but extremely predatory

Aside from occasionally catching small fish, they feed primarily on corals

One individual starfish can eat up to six square meters of live coral per year

The reef dies after the starfish passes through, leaving behind a wasteland

The reef dies after the starfish passes through, leaving behind a wasteland

The parrotfish is also fond of coral, but sharp beaked nibbling poses no great threat to the reef

The parrotfish is also fond of coral, but sharp beaked nibbling poses no great threat to the reef

The parrotfish is also fond of coral, but sharp beaked nibbling poses no great threat to the reef

The parrotfish is also fond of coral, but sharp beaked nibbling poses no great threat to the reef

The parrotfish is also fond of coral, but sharp beaked nibbling poses no great threat to the reef

An encounter with a school of barracuda can be quite chilling, but these ferocious predators can actually be rather tame

Adult barracudas generally live solitary lives

Only when the time for mating and egg laying comes do they begin to form schools

Young fish also need a social life

In a wild, untamed corner of Costa Rica, there is a paradise of untouched nature, with howling monkeys, prowling jaguars, and whales that sound or break the surface of the water

It's the last place on Earth where the virgin rainforest grows right up out of the tides

You could walk here for hours or even days along the endless coastline and never meet another person

This is the Osa Peninsula, where the rainforest meets the ocean

There's no more beautiful place on the planet

Music Music Music Corcovado National Geographic calls this national park on the Osa Peninsula the most biologically diverse place on Earth

The exceptional number of ecosystems makes it possible for new plant and animal species to continue emerging, even today

Here you'll find the nesting ground of the largest population of scarlet macaws in Central America

The rapid collared peccary acts tame, but if its territory is threatened, it can be quite ferocious

Music Music The remote center of the park is located in the Serena Biological Park, where you'll even find a tiny airport

There is a constant effort to regulate the number of visitors as well as illegal logging, the main reason the park was established in 1975

Music Music Music Music The Osa Peninsula was once an island where life evolved independently

When the connection to the mainland formed some two million years ago, countless species of plants and animals blended into the mainland populations, creating exceptional biodiversity

Even today you can discover new, previously unknown species

The largest land animal in Costa Rica, the Central American or Baird's Taper, has lived a solitary life for 35 million years

During the day, they like to carry along their own beauticians to keep themselves parasite free

Music Music Music We head out on a locally popular fishing trip

Because of the demanding filming and strong currents, we need to fortify ourselves

You can really reel in some nice catches

Music The fleet of the common dolphin, better known around the world as Mahi-Mahi and in Central America as El Dorado, is some of the best the sea has to offer

A flock of pelicans waits in the harbor to see if our fishing expedition has brought them something to snack on

Music Music Music Music Music Austin Owl Beach

We head back to the scene

It's been a few weeks and the baby sea turtles should start digging their way out of their sandy nests any day now

As the water rises, so does our nervousness

There's no way to know for sure when they'll start hatching

The beach starts to move and the first hatchlings make their appearance

Miraculously, all the eggs hatch at once as if they'd receive instructions from above

Music Music The flock of hungry onlookers creeps closer and closer

Music Music The gender of the young turtles, like many reptiles, is determined by the temperature during incubation

Between 31 and 32 degrees Celsius, females hatch

When the temperature falls to 28 degrees or less, the hatchlings are exclusively male

If the temperature remains between 29 and 30 degrees, equal numbers of males and females hatch out

The hatchlings must reach the water as quickly as possible

They follow the light

Music They leave the darkness of their nest and head straight for the gleaming surface of the water

Unfortunately, it often happens that they become confused by nearby artificial light, such as street lights or resorts, causing them to head in the wrong direction and die of exhaustion and thirst

On the way to the sea, they become imprinted with their home beach, where one day they may return to lay their own eggs

It's an important part of their development, and if we tried to help them, they wouldn't stand a chance of survival

Music But even in the ocean, they won't be safe

Countless pitfalls await them

It's said that only one in a thousand reaches adulthood

Marino Ballena Marine National Park is one of the starting points for observing humpback whales

We head out every day onto the water in hope of catching just a glimpse

A nearby hurricane has made visibility exceptionally poor

The Costa Rican coast is the one place in the world where both southern and northern subspecies of humpback whales congregate to give birth

Surviving with them is more difficult than we expected

Music Music Music Music Music We always consider dolphin encounters to be a symbol of luck

We hope they don't leave us and that we can film them alongside the humpbacks

Music We hear them, but unfortunately, our captain can't get us any closer

But they're not that far away

They have amazingly developed hearing and know that we are here

Music Music Music Music Music Music Music White tip reef sharks are keeping a sharp eye on us, even if they don't seem to be

Unlike other sharks, they don't have to keep moving

They can pump oxygen from the water to their gills and so can rest quietly on the seabed

Music The terror of the Pacific Coast, the round stingray

In the autumn, they shed their tail spine full of strong venom so that they can grow a new one

If you happen to step on one of these spines, you're in big trouble

Stingrays are not afraid of humans and many incidents take place when swimming, causing hundreds of serious injuries every year

Music Music Music Music Music The Osa Peninsula, as well as the Sierpe and Taraba River Deltas, provide ideal conditions for life

A myriad of tiny streams full of nutrients flow out of the jungle to the ocean

They attract marine organisms to reproduce, while the tangles of mangrove roots provide them with shelter

Tip reef sharks have found protection here against attacks by an aggressive species of shark

Music Exceptionally rich plankton, full of nutrients from the river deltas, attract schools of fish, which in turn attract humpbacks

There's no other marine creature who can sing like the males of these giants

Songs composed of many different sounds can last up to half an hour

Their composition creates musical phrases that resemble verses in poetry

The knowledge that these incredibly intelligent mammals are close by is exciting

Unlike us, the porcupine fish is completely calm

It has nothing to be afraid of

Music If it became necessary, it could inflate itself and raise its sharp spines

Predators are fully aware that the porcupine fish are poisonous thanks to the toxic algae that they consume

The white-spotted boxfish can also defend itself with poison that it exudes from its skin

But trapped in small spaces, it can even poison itself

Music Music Music The white-spotted puffer is yet another poisonous species

It can inflate itself like the porcupine fish, but doesn't have spines

Music Music Another resident of the Costa Rican coastline that uses poison to protect itself is the guinea fowl puffer

This species is unique in that it has two color variations

This is the yellow one

Music Music Here we have a pair of the same guinea fowl puffers in their dark form

The guinea fowl puffer gets its name because of the resemblance to the bird of the same name

The stone triggerfish is a common visitor to these rocky outcroppings

It is one of the largest triggerfishes on the Pacific coast

They're one of the more intelligent fish species

It's been proven, for example, that they can learn from their own mistakes

Even a school of big-eyed trevallies can't resist checking us out

Now the singing humpbacks are really close

In one population, all of the males sing the same song, which changes gradually over time and is spread over thousands of kilometers of ocean from one to the next, just like popular hits with humans

They might be used to attract females, to communicate, or just sung for fun

This is the encounter we have waited for

Music The mystical humpback singing deepens the mysteriousness of the seas, the cradle, as well as the most important condition for sustaining life on planet Earth

Music Music Music Music Music