I just received the following email from Dave the turtle guy. I’ve made some videos out at his eco lodge. Turns out saving turtles is pretty frustrating business.
“Sunday, Feb., 12, 2012
Sorry that this is not a personal note written to each of you, but I
don´t think that I have the energy or the stomach to write this more than once. This latest news
has made me physically sick, and it may prove to be the last straw that this old camel can carry.
As you may already know, my North American neighbor, who goes by the name ¨Johncho¨, has an ¨Eco Tourism¨ project that he calls Mono Feliz. For many years I have tried to get him to stop his dogs from killing sea turtles and digging up turtle nests I have also tried to stop him from serving endangered animals to his guests, and many other un ecological things that are against the law but he continues to do anyway. Johncho lives with a Panamanian woman named Luzmila, and Luzmila has a brother named ¨Chombito¨. When Chombito had to sell his house in order to return some of the money that he had stolen from the town of Beja Vista, Johncho and Luzmila moved
this thief into a shack on the beach. This may not have been so bad but he is also one of the last full time poachers of threatened and endangered animals that are still making a living by hunting the last of the animals in this area. When Chombito moved to the beach, last November 2011, He
became the biggest problem that I faced in trying to save sea turtle nests, and adult turtles. In December when his three teenage sons came to stay with him for school vacation, Chombito stayed in bed and sent his boys to poach the turtle nests. I would have liked to have been able to take their pictures while they were robbing the nests, but I walk with a flashlight and they were
always long gone by the time I found the empty nests. To solve this poaching problem, I would take a book and sit on the beach all night. This severely cut into Chombito´s egg selling business and his solution was to go to the police and make a false report that said I have been threatening his children and chasing then, taking their pictures and using foul language. The only time that I have taken their pictures was when they were here with their mother and all the other children from the Beja Vista School, to listen to me talk about saving the environment and to release baby sea turtles. The part about me chasing them and using foul language does not even deserve to be addressed, but the police inspectors say that these children need to be psychiatrically tested to
determine the extent of damage my abuse has caused them. According to my lawyer my only defense was to file my own police report and try to have him sent to jail for filing a false police report, this has already cost me more time and money than I can afford. But what may prove to be the last straw came last night when I learned that the Mono Feliz Clan, the same people that have
been giving me the most trouble and who have been responsible for killing tens of thousands of turtles in the years that I have been trying to save them, has asked the governmental authority (A.N.A.M.) for permission to start a turtle incubation project. This permission would allow them to take all the nests they could find and also give them an excuse to be on the beach all night where
they could also take the adult turtles. I am so tired of the lies, corruption, and complete lack of ethics and honor that I am seriously looking for a way out of here. I do not want to walk away from 12 years of my life´s work, or my life´s savings, and so, I will continue with my environmental projects, and entertain the youth groups that want to come and hear my seminars, but I do not
think I can continue for much longer without monetary help and recognition from some influential organizations. One man working alone is easy to ignore. If you know anyone with some clout please point them in my direction.
Tue., Feb., 12th. I have just learned that another of the poachers, a man that I have been trying to have arrested, has also applied for permission to start a turtle incubation project. This man´s name is Chano, and he is one of the five men that beat and robbed me when I was taking pictures of them shooting monkeys almost 4 years ago.
Still hanging on, but not by much………….Dave”
http://www.tigresalvaje.com/
I made it back to Tigre Salvaje to visit Dave, and this time my wife made the trip with me. I knew a few people had donated money and wanted to give him a chance to say thanks on camera.
We had a nice ride out there, and hike in. But once we got there it started to rain and didn’t stop for the rest of the weekend. We rode home 4 hours shivering. This was my wife’s first long ride with me and it was pretty miserable. Bumpy dirt road, and cold rainy days, but she was a trooper. When I asked if she wanted to stop and warm up she said, “Just keep driving and get me home.” She was a trooper, I think both of us would have been happier had we taken the car.
http://www.tigresalvaje.com This is Dave from Tigre Salvaje. He is sane enough to describe himself as a crazy old hermit, so he can’t be all gone upstairs. But a normal person doesn’t do what he does. He has given up a lot to help out our planet. Being alone out there saving the turtles isn’t an easy task, and I could tell he was feeling a bit down. Any donations you can send would be greatly appreciated. http://www.tigresalvaje.com/donate.htm
If you can’t spare any coin at the moment shoot him an email, and just say thanks. A quick digital pat on the back would mean a lot to him.
davidteichmann@yahoo.com
http://www.tigresalvaje.com Helping the baby turtles swim out into the ocean was awesome. I got some amazing underwater shots with my Drift Stealth helmet camera in the waterproof enclosure, but didn’t get as much underwater shots as I would have liked. I was so excited about what was happening around me that I was forgetting how to make a video. So there is some shaky footage, and maybe not as much as you would like to see of the turtles swimming, but I tried.
Making these Tigre Salvaje videos has been a great experience. I really feel like these are some of the most important videos I have ever made. I know people have been donating, and offering their services to do things like build Dave a new website. It sound cliche but I really do have the best fans in the world. Dave is out there all alone, and in a situation like that it is easy to get discouraged.
If you have the budget and the time visiting Tigre Salvaje would be a great experience. If you can send a small donation via paypal that would help out immensely http://www.tigresalvaje.com/donate.htm If you can’t send any coin I’m sure Dave would appreciate an email saying thanks for what he is doing. Feel free to drop him a line and give a digital pat on the back. I know it would make him smile.
davidteichmann@yahoo.com
http://www.tigresalvaje.com While I was at Tigre Salvaje I got to help Dave dig up a turtle nest and place the eggs in the incubator. There they will be safe from poachers, stray dogs, and raccoon. The average turtle nest contains 90-130 eggs, the average turtle nest also has about zero chance of success unless people like Dave can get to them before the poachers.
It was awesome to be able to help in something like this. And because the turtle season is a few months long not only did I get to put some eggs in the incubator, I was able to handle some baby sea turtles that had already hatched. It was an amazing day, and it got even better in the next episode when released some turtles into the ocean.
Follow me with Spot
No idea if I have all this set up correctly. This will be the test run for my new Spot tracking device.
You should be able to check in on me at this link or maybe this one as I make my way up to the border of Costa Rica then make a hard left for the coast of Panama. I’m off to visit a turtle sanctuary. It’s the time of year for the babies to be born and I’m going to film the little guys making a run for the ocean. Something I’ve always wanted to do.
