Sea turtles on the Togo coast
Olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) and green turtle (Chelonia mydas). Coast between Lomé and Aného; Mono transboundary biosphere reserve, Togo.
Best time: 1 Nov – 31 Jan (November to January). Where: Agbodrafo–Aného beaches, Grand-Popo side of the Mono mouth (Benin) (Togo). Time of day: Nesting after dark, mostly 21:00–03:00.
- Guide, ranger or boat needed
- Low cost
- No binoculars needed
- Sound 2/5
Open it in the interactive calendarSunrise and sunset listening times for the day you pick, and the map.
When is the best time?
Peak: 1 Nov – 31 Jan. November to January, the peak of nesting on the Bight of Benin beaches
Active from 1 Sep to 15 Mar (September to March) in a typical year.
Time of day
Nesting after dark, mostly 21:00–03:00; hatchling emergences at night from roughly two months after the peak
- Nesting patrol: 21:00 → 03:00
Depends on the tide: best around high tide. Check local tide tables.
What will you hear?
A sighting more than a sound: the heavy breathing and sand-scraping of a nesting female against the surf, and the patrol team's low talk.
Binoculars?
No binoculars needed. A nesting turtle beside you on a dark beach; red torch only with the patrol.
Where to go
- Agbodrafo–Aného beaches — The less built-up stretch east of Lomé; the local NGO Agbo-Zegue runs beach patrols and community protection here. Map
- Grand-Popo side of the Mono mouth (Benin) — Same nesting coast, better organised patrols and a hatchery across the border; see the Benin entry. Map
How to go on your own, and what it costs
Approaching a nesting turtle without a patrol is prohibited; join the local NGO patrol (Agbo-Zegue) by arrangement — ask for them in Agbodrafo or Aného.
Cost: Donation; check current prices.
Free or no-guide alternative: The beach between Agbodrafo and Aného is public; hatchling emergences and releases can be seen for free, but do not approach or light a nesting animal.
Field-recording notes
Join a patrol — night beaches are not for wandering alone, and the turtles need red light and a rear approach only. Nesting numbers on the Togo stretch are low and the beaches are eroding fast; the monitoring here is less established than in Benin and Côte d'Ivoire, so contact the NGO before planning around it. Surf and onshore wind are the noise floor; a close mic on the animal is the only isolation.
Sources
Similar spectacles
Sea turtles nesting at Grand-BérébyMostly a sight, but the sound is worth having: the heavy breathing and sand-throwing of a leatherback digging, flippers slapping wet sand, and the surf of the Gulf of Guinea behind it.
Sea turtles nesting at Grand-Popo and OuidahA sight more than a sound, but with a close mic: sand thrown by a leatherback's flippers, the deep exhalations of a nesting female, and the Bight of Benin surf behind.
Sea turtles at Ebodjé and the Campo Ma'an coastA visual event with a good close-mic moment: the digging and heavy breathing of a nesting turtle against the surf; behind the beach the Campo Ma'an forest at night.
Olive ridley nesting on the Angolan coast — the Atlantic's largest populationA sighting with a close-mic moment: the scraping and heavy breathing of a nesting ridley — a small turtle, a quick nest — against the Atlantic surf, and the Kitabanga patrol's low voices.
Conkouati-Douli: humpback whales and leatherback nestingBlows and breaches from the beach, humpback song on a hydrophone from a drifting pirogue, and at night the digging and heavy breathing of a leatherback on a wild beach with no lights for 50 km; chimpanzees pant-hooting from the lagoon islands at dawn.
Kartong — wetland pools, Allahein river mouth and turtle beachCrakes and pygmy geese in the sand-mine pools, a wader roost at the Allahein mouth, and on rainy-season nights the beach with the surf and, if you are lucky, a nesting green turtle's breathing.
More: all spectacles in Togo · sea turtles · stork, heron and flamingo colonies · Togo in January · Togo in November · Togo in December