Turtle Hatchings in Zihuatanejo
Travels with Anzie – Turtle Hatching on the Pacific Coast of Mexico
February 1, 2015
Last evening we witnessed 100 newly born Green turtles launched into the ocean.
An amazing sight! These turtles, less than 24 hours old, were placed on the wet sand at high tide. As soon as a wave reached them their innate reaction was to move their flippers. Some of them reached the water on their first attempt. Some of them were swept farther away from the ocean. We were a crowd of almost 80 spectators to this awe-inspiring sight. On occasion a baby would wash up around our feet. The automatic reflex was to jump away. However, we had been advised not to, for fear that we might harm the turtles in our effort to avoid them.
The next obvious human reaction was to pick up the poor misguided turtle, and place it in the water. Again, we were advised not to touch the turtles for fear of contaminating them with our oils, be they natural or lotions. These strictures are a far cry from practices in effect just ten years ago. Back then onlookers would pick up the turtles, kiss them, give them a name before they threw them as far as they could out to sea.
Ten years ago the turtle population was on a serious wane, for various reasons:
- Of course, the greatest obstacle to turtle survival is the threat of animal predators, both winged and four-legged. Turtle eggs were popular fare, not just for predators but for humans. In Costa Rica in 2007 we recall a restaurant with a big sign outside advertising “Huevos de Tortuga”.
- Coastal development. When newly hatched turtles head for the sea, they head for light. At night the ocean gives off more light than the land. Well, it used to be that way before the advent of seaside development. Now, when a baby turtle hatches from the egg and climbs out of the sand nest, the strongest light may well come from a beachside condo. Disoriented, he heads inland and to his doom.
We witnessed the turtle launch on the beach in front of the Intrawest Resort in Zihuatenejo, on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, north of Acapulco. The town has assumed the responsibility of turtle conservation, and the staff at Intrawest are enthusiastic volunteers. When turtles begin to arrive on the beach to lay their eggs in May through the Fall, the resort employees are alerted. They wait until the turtle has finished digging her nest hole, laying her eggs (up to 120) and covering the eggs with sand. After the mama turtle leaves, the employees – who have been trained and certified – dig up the eggs, put them in a sack, and carry them to a special fenced-off area of the hotel beach. Here they re-bury the eggs in the sand. They then surround the nest with a protective cylinder of chicken wire. They insert a stick that is about three feet long and two inches wide. On the stick is printed the date the nest was built and the number of eggs.
It takes on average 50 days for the eggs to hatch. At the proposed date of maturity the eggs are dug up and placed in a large plastic box. Our instructor, Marie, explained that, as soon as the baby turtles can hear the sound of the ocean, they begin to hatch. The turtles we saw had hatched less than 24 hours earlier. They were squirming like mad in the bottom of the box, little flippers flapping. They were ready to go!
Are the conservation practices having a positive effect? Marie explained that ten years ago they hatched 900 turtles. In the last six months the hatch count is in excess of 17,000.
If all goes well, within just a few years turtles will take over the world.
Hasta la proxima –
Chuck and Anzie
