San José del Cabo.- “Since I can remember, I have known the sea turtle; There is a very special bond between her and me,” says Carlos Villalobos, who currently works for the Pueblo Bonito hotel and is a representative of the San José del Cabo Sea Turtle Protection Program.
On a visit to this region of Baja California Sur, we were able to discover the secrets that these species keep, their origin and the way in which they face the challenge of survival, both in their environment and when being close to the presence of man.
“I am from Oaxaca. I remember that my dad had a ranch there and at that time the consumption of turtle eggs was not prohibited. One day he got up at six in the morning, and went to get the nest, when he brought it home, he told my mother how she should prepare them.
“I didn’t know the turtles, but one day at around 11 in the morning, suddenly everyone started shouting in the house that a turtle had just come out of the sea, and at that moment everything changed for me, because it began to emerge a very special bond with them that has to do with respect for their life and its conservation, says Villalobos.
Carlos’ mission lies in being a day and night guardian of the beaches of Los Cabos, where he currently lives. His responsibility has been acquired over time, thanks to his passion for research on the life and history of turtles that has taken him to travel to several countries, where through constant courses and training he manages to fulfill his important task.
“Costa Rica is a representative country worldwide in terms of the care and protection of turtles. The truth is that when one talks about that small country, we do not imagine that it has the most structured conservation program; It has the best programs with a lot of potential, I was there in 2008, as part of the Green Turtle Program.
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“There I learned many things I didn’t know about turtles. I think that Mexico is still very limited in these issues, especially in terms of training; “Costa Rica receives support from international organizations and these are the ones that have carried out actions to safeguard this and other marine species.”
Costa Rica is a representative country worldwide in terms of the care and protection of turtles. When you talk about that small country, you don’t imagine that they have the most structured conservation program in the world.
The specialist tells how his first meeting with his best friends was.
“First I met the olive ridley turtle, which is the one we take care of here in Los Cabos; then to the leatherback, which is the largest in the world, then to the brown, which is a little larger than the olive ridley, then to the hawksbill and then to the loggerhead. In Baja California Sur we have five species, only three nest, which are the olive ridley, the black and the leatherback; The ones we feed here are the hawksbill and the loggerhead, in fact the loggerhead is Japanese, not Mexican, the current of the sea brings it here and it feeds here, after 20 years when it feels the need to reproduce, nothing return to their place of origin,” he explains.
Don Carlos proudly describes the success stories in favor of amphibian reptiles and other species, highlighting their contribution to caring for the environment.
“Of the eggs that the olive ridley sea turtle laid, we rescued 150 to 300 per year, it didn’t go beyond that, but after 10 years and various protection works, we currently have 1,600 kilos protected in the nursery and we still have this month of October and the season from September to December.”
According to a study by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), the olive ridley is currently in danger of extinction. Reaching sexual maturity takes several decades and the time that passes from the egg phase until they reach the adult phase can be from 10 to 50 years (Frazier, 1999).
Courtship and copulation occur at sea, usually no more than 1 kilometer away from the nesting beach. In general, females do not reproduce every year; the duration between one period and another depends on the remigration interval, which ranges from 1 to 9 years depending on the species (Lutz and Musick, 1997). This species has nocturnal nesting habits, although it occasionally does so during the day.
“The moment humans put their hand into a natural environment, it causes a terrible impact, such as in this case moving or extracting turtle eggs. They have inhabited the planet for around 160 million years and during all this time they have managed to survive their predators, but the most dangerous of all are the spectators who never pay attention to the rules.
When humans put their hands into a natural environment it causes a terrible impact, as happens when moving or extracting the eggs of turtles, who for about 160 million years have managed to survive their predators.
“Currently there is an imminent danger due to the pollution of the seas, which puts all species at risk, but even more so the leatherback turtle, since it feeds particularly on jellyfish, which it mistakes for plastic bags and dies” .
Villalobos says that there are programs such as the permit of the Los Cabos City Council, which was formed in 2003, and consists, among other objectives, of inviting hotels to participate in actions in favor of marine fauna, in this collaboration the “Pueblo Bonito hotel was one of the pioneers, and to this day he continues his work.”
Regarding the lack of support and resources, Carlos says: “There is more and more work to do, and therefore more resources, more equipment, materials, etc. are required… But above all, we need personnel who are completely dedicated to this mission, because there are many volunteers who are only present for a few days and then say they are tired and desert.”
Punishment of hunters
Carlos is an expert in detecting hunters or invaders of turtle nests, he is always vigilant and knows the laws to the letter to be able to warn those who dare to approach with the intention of consuming, selling or attacking any type in any way. of species.
“There is a nine-year penalty for a single egg that you can remove from a nest. In order to do conservation work, you must have permission from the federal government, but this is very demanding when it comes to processing it. You have to do your research to see if you are really a candidate for some type of program.”
Finally, he sends a message to new generations: “We must value and understand that nature gives us all the opportunities we have in life to be able to coexist with other species; We have to understand that nature is part of us, so to conserve the environment, the oceans and all the fauna, we have to be aware, to investigate, to know the wealth that our country Mexico has, a megadiverse country, with incredible life. , which not every country has and that we were the country of the turtles, we must be that again, therefore we have to take care of them, we have to value and support conservation programs so that all this diversity continues and the turtles have a chance to live in harmony with us.”
Do turtles cry when they lay their eggs?
When a turtle finishes digging the nest, it begins to lay its eggs, usually leaving them two at a time. The average clutch size usually varies between 80 and 120 eggs, depending on the species.
Since the eggs are flexible, they do not break when they fall into the nest. This flexibility also allows the female and the nest to support a greater number of eggs.
Nesting females shed a tear while laying their eggs, but what they are really doing is excreting the salt that accumulates in their bodies. Furthermore, it is said that while they lay their eggs, they enter a kind of trance from which they cannot be disturbed.
A turtle will be less likely to leave the nest when it is laying its eggs, but some have aborted their natural process due to being disturbed or feeling threatened. For this reason, it is very important that they are not disturbed while they are nesting.
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Once all the eggs have been laid in the nest, the female will use her hind fins to cover the gap, gradually compacting the sand to cover and camouflage the nest by throwing more sand with her front fins.
By throwing sand in all directions, it will be much more difficult for predators to find the eggs. After the nest is well hidden, the female begins her way back to the sea to rest briefly before nesting again later in the season or before beginning her migration to the feeding grounds again. Once the female leaves the nest, she will never return to care for it.
