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Ocean Calling

Ocean Atlas · Americas

Americas

French Guiana

A South American coast where leatherback nesting has collapsed in twenty years.

Leatherback turtle
Leatherback turtle, found in the waters of the wider region · Photo: Max Gotts on Unsplash
Story only

Story only, for now. We love learning about this place and its ocean, so we share its story here and do not sell trips yet. Checked by Ocean Calling on 6 Oct 2026. Sources: Turtle-watching in French Guiana: tips from a naturalist, France.fr; Amana Nature Reserve, Wikipedia; Why are French Guiana leatherbacks declining? State of the World's Sea Turtles (SWOT).

Why: The beaches around Awala-Yalimapo and the Amana Nature Reserve, protected since 1998, are among the world's great leatherback nesting sites, with females coming ashore from about February to July. A French ministerial order of 14 October 2005 forbids capturing turtles, destroying eggs or nests, and intentionally disturbing them. We follow the same simple rules: stay behind the turtle, use only a red light, keep quiet, and never touch her or block her path. If we ever visit, we would go only on a night led by the reserve's approved guides, and the hatchery work stays for the turtles, not for guests.

🧭 Travel advice, checked 30 Sep 2026. The UK FCDO shows no country-wide warning for French Guiana, only 'See our travel advice before travelling', and the advice covers health risks such as malaria and dengue. Sources: UK FCDO travel advice, French Guiana Advice differs by passport: check your own government before you plan.

TurtlesWildlife watching

Why French Guiana

People come for Amazon edge forest, Kourou and Cayenne. On the west coast near Awala Yalimapo, leatherback nests are down by more than 95 percent in 20 years, and nesting females fell from 12,000 to 18,000 in the 1970s to about 20 in 2022 and 30 in 2023. Dogs, poaching and erosion are still threats. A nature reserve protects the beach. We tell the story of the loss and we do not go for now.

Conservation-led. Ocean Calling guests never chase, touch or bait animals.

United States of AmericaHaitiDominican Rep.MexicoBrazilBoliviaPeruColombiaPanamaCosta RicaNicaraguaHondurasEl SalvadorGuatemalaBelizeVenezuelaGuyanaSurinameFranceEcuadorPuerto RicoJamaicaCubaTrinidad and TobagoAwala Yalimapo and the Amana reserve, French Guiana

When to go

Timing changes a lot from place to place. See each place below.

We share this place as a story so you can learn. There is no Ocean Calling trip.

Our ethics check

Can we travel here ethically?

Story only

We tell the story. We do not sell a trip here.

Checked 6 Oct 2026. Places change, so we look again every year.

Sources for this check
The story

Where in French Guiana

We share these places as stories and research notes. We do not offer or sell trips here.

Awala Yalimapo and the Amana reserve

Story only

A reserve beach on the west coast where leatherback, green and olive ridley turtles nest, and where the numbers have fallen hard.

Also seen: Nesting turtles at night, only with the reserve rules: no white light, no flash, no touching, guided

Animals

Animals recorded in French Guiana

Tap an animal to learn how it lives, where it travels and how to meet it respectfully.

Land animals
Leatherback hatchling crossing the sand toward the seaLeatherback turtleDermochelys coriaceaSeen in 76 countries in the AtlasVulnerableGreen turtle resting on the reef, shell and head pattern in sharp detailGreen turtleChelonia mydasSeen in 103 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernOlive ridley turtles nesting on Playa Ostional, Costa RicaOlive ridley turtleLepidochelys olivaceaSeen in 40 countries in the AtlasVulnerableHawksbill turtle swimming, pointed beak in profileHawksbill turtleEretmochelys imbricataSeen in 88 countries in the AtlasCritically EndangeredAntillean manatee swimming in clear blue water, seen from belowAntillean manateeTrichechus manatus manatusSeen in 14 countries in the AtlasEndangeredGuiana dolphin catching a fish in the Mahury channel, French GuianaGuiana dolphinSotalia guianensisSeen in 2 countries in the AtlasNear ThreatenedHumpback whale swimming close with long pectoral finHumpback whaleMegaptera novaeangliaeSeen in 87 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernCommon bottlenose dolphin swimming over a seagrass bedCommon bottlenose dolphinTursiops truncatusSeen in 89 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernSperm whale mother raising her fluke beside her calf off DominicaSperm whalePhyseter macrocephalusSeen in 114 countries in the AtlasVulnerableOrcas surfacing close together in calm Arctic Norwegian watersOrca (killer whale)Orcinus orcaSeen in 55 countries in the AtlasData DeficientShort-finned pilot whale surfacing off Tenerife with the island behindShort-finned pilot whaleGlobicephala macrorhynchusSeen in 43 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernTwo spinner dolphins swimming over sand in clear waterSpinner dolphinStenella longirostrisSeen in 66 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernPod of common dolphins surfacing in calm blue seaCommon dolphinDelphinus delphisSeen in 53 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernFin whale surfacing, showing its white right lower jawFin whaleBalaenoptera physalusSeen in 37 countries in the AtlasVulnerableGiant oceanic manta with T-shaped white shoulder patches and remorasOceanic manta ray (giant manta)Mobula birostrisSeen in 31 countries in the AtlasEndangeredMale magnificent frigatebird perched on a mangrove branchMagnificent frigatebirdFregata magnificensSeen in 52 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernScarred Risso's dolphin spyhopping out of the waterRisso's dolphinGrampus griseusSeen in 56 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernHeavily spotted adult Atlantic spotted dolphin with young, AzoresAtlantic spotted dolphinStenella frontalisSeen in 22 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernFalse killer whale surging through blue water off Rota, Mariana IslandsFalse killer whalePseudorca crassidensSeen in 41 countries in the AtlasNear ThreatenedCuvier's beaked whale surfacing, pale scarred head and small dorsal finCuvier's beaked whaleZiphius cavirostrisSeen in 42 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernMelon-headed whales leaping together through a splash of white waterMelon-headed whalePeponocephala electraSeen in 22 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernPantropical spotted dolphin gliding at the calm ocean surfacePantropical spotted dolphinStenella attenuataSeen in 56 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernTwo rough-toothed dolphins leaping together, blotchy grey skin visibleRough-toothed dolphinSteno bredanensisSeen in 36 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernPygmy killer whale surfacing in turquoise waterPygmy killer whaleFeresa attenuataSeen in 11 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernBull shark swimming in clear blue water off Quintana Roo, MexicoBull sharkCarcharhinus leucasSeen in 30 countries in the AtlasVulnerableBlacktip shark swimming in green water in the GalápagosBlacktip sharkCarcharhinus limbatusSeen in 49 countries in the AtlasVulnerableNurse shark swimming over a reef at Fernando de Noronha, BrazilAtlantic nurse sharkGinglymostoma cirratumSeen in 38 countries in the AtlasVulnerablePortuguese man o' war floating with purple crest off Pico, AzoresPortuguese man o' warPhysalia physalisSeen in 36 countries in the AtlasNot EvaluatedMoon jellyfish in a harbour in Zeeland, NetherlandsMoon jellyfishAurelia aurita and other Aurelia speciesSeen in 33 countries in the AtlasNot EvaluatedMasked booby on Ascension IslandMasked boobySula dactylatraSeen in 80 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernDiver beside an Atlantic goliath grouper at Dry Tortugas National ParkGoliath grouperEpinephelus itajaraSeen in 25 countries in the AtlasVulnerableAdult brown booby standing on a rock with its bill open against blue sky, PrincipeBrown boobySula leucogasterSeen in 104 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernScarlet ibis in flight against a pale blue sky, photographed in Georgetown, GuyanaScarlet ibisEudocimus ruberSeen in 22 countries in the AtlasLives on landLeast ConcernTarpon swimming in open blue water with a dense school of small fish behind it, off St John in the US Virgin IslandsAtlantic tarponMegalops atlanticusSeen in 24 countries in the AtlasVulnerableCrowd of brown pelicans packed together on a coastal roost, one adult with a pale head and coloured bill facing the cameraBrown pelicanPelecanus occidentalisSeen in 48 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernAmerican flamingo wading in shallow water with its head lowered toward the surface, Yucatán, MexicoAmerican flamingoPhoenicopterus ruberSeen in 47 countries in the AtlasLives on landLeast ConcernWilson's storm-petrel resting on calm water with its wings raised above its backWilson's storm-petrelOceanites oceanicusSeen in 41 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernScopoli's shearwater skimming just above calm blue waterScopoli's shearwaterCalonectris diomedeaSeen in 37 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernLeach's storm-petrel in flight over water, wings spread, with a pale patch at the base of the tailLeach's storm-petrelHydrobates leucorhousSeen in 35 countries in the AtlasVulnerableManx shearwater banking just above the sea, white underparts and dark upperparts visibleManx shearwaterPuffinus puffinusSeen in 34 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernGreat shearwater flying low over calm water, its reflection belowGreat shearwaterArdenna gravisSeen in 32 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernNeotropic cormorant perched among willow branches beside the waterNeotropic cormorantNannopterum brasilianumSeen in 29 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernSargasso shearwater gliding over a grey sea, dark above and pale belowSargasso shearwater (Audubon's shearwater)Puffinus lherminieriSeen in 27 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernAnhinga holding a fish in its long, pointed billAnhinga (American darter)Anhinga anhingaSeen in 24 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernTwo tucuxi surfacing side by side in shallow river water beside a grassy bankTucuxiSotalia fluviatilisSeen in 5 countries in the AtlasEndangered
Curious?

Why this is a story, not a trip

Read our ethics check above. If you would like to talk about it, Rocío is happy to explain.

Ask RocíoBack to the Ocean Atlas

Also in Americas
AntarcticaArgentinaBermudaBrazilCanadaChileColombiaCosta RicaEcuadorEl SalvadorFalkland IslandsGuatemalaGuyanaMexicoNicaraguaPanamaPeruSurinameUnited StatesUruguay

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