The Amana Nature Reserve ( French: ''Réserve naturelle nationale de l'Amana'') is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. It has been protected, because it is one of the world's largest leatherback turtle nesting site. It is part of the

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...

of Awala-Yalimapo and

Mana According to Melanesian and Polynesian mythology, ''mana'' is a supernatural force that permeates the universe. Anyone or anything can have ''mana''. They believed it to be a cultivation or possession of energy and power, rather than being ...

Overview

The nature reserve stretches from the Maroni to the . The reserve consists of beaches,

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...

forests, swamps and savannahs. Imbriquée Amana

Leatherback Sea Turtle The leatherback sea turtle (''Dermochelys coriacea''), sometimes called the lute turtle or leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile, reaching lengths of up to and weight ...

s need very specific nesting beaches, and return to the same beach every two to three years. It is an

vulnerable species A vulnerable species is a species which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatening its survival and reproduction improve. Vulnera ...

with a limited number of suitable beaches. The neighbouring Wia Wia Nature Reserve in Suriname was used by the turtles as well until the beach shifted resulting in the disappearance of the turtles. The beaches at Amana were home to 5,029 to 63,294 nests between 1967 and 2005. The turtles lay their eggs between March to July, dig a hole which will contain 80 to 90 eggs. The hole is located between the high water mark and the vegetation. The baby turtles will emerge about two months later. Other turtles who use the beach are the Green sea turtle, the

Olive ridley sea turtle The olive ridley sea turtle (''Lepidochelys olivacea''), also known commonly as the Pacific ridley sea turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Cheloniidae. The species is the second-smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in ...

and occasionally the Hawksbill sea turtle.

References

External links

Official website
(in French) Beaches of French Guiana Environment of French Guiana Mana, French Guiana Nature reserves in France Protected areas of French Guiana {{SouthAm-protected-area-stub