my "nightline" coanchor dan harris found out why they want those turtle eggs while others risk everything to stop them. >> reporter: it's the middle of night. lightning, another reassuring sign. we're in the back of a police pickup heading into one of the most dangerous beaches in central america. >> you can tell it's raining really hard. >> reporter: after an hour-long downpour, the rain clears. >> whoa! look at that! >> reporter: we find what we came here for. >> look at the size of her. >> reporter: we're here to witness a treacherous game of finders keepers. >> you know for sure that there are poach others this beach right now? eric alguera ricking his life to protect these rare beasts. >> we may have a lot of eyes on us right now? for sure, for sure. >> reporter: poachers and conservationists are racing to claim the eggs from these animals, the leatherback turtle. at up to 2,000 pounds the largest turtles on earth. >> you can see the eggs coming out. pretty cool. it's filling up fast. wow. look at that. this gives you a sense what was a cat and mouse game this is. these are discarded