World News for Students of English

21-09-2015 15:00

Thousands of turtles have arrived at the Ostional coastline of Costa Rica in the annual wildlife phenomenon Arribada. The event was captured on a Costa Rican beach when an estimated 5,000 turtles were seen making their way across. Arribada involves large numbers of the creatures coming ashore all at once to nest and lay their eggs in the sand.

Despite the turtles’ arrival, much to the delight of locals and tourists, hundreds of people who turned up to get a glimpse stood in the way of them, causing many to return to the sea without laying their eggs.

Union workers from the Ministry of Environment and Energy posted these pictures on its Facebook page. It has been reported that some tourists touched turtles, stood on their nests, took pictures with a flash camera and even placed children on top of them to take photos.

“Arribada” means “arrival by sea” in Spanish. Nearly every month there are mass arrivals at the wildlife refuge, but September and October are known as the peak months of the season.

Difficult words: annual (happening every year), phenomenon (something special which happens in nature), creature (an animal), glimpse (s quick look), refuge a safe place for animals or people, peak (the point of highest activity).

Source: www.ondemandnews.com