ENDANGERED SEA TURTLES OF RIVIERA MAYA; SIAN KA’AN TURTLE PROTECTION

Adult Sea Turle in Sian Ka’an

Turtles- peaceful animal that symbolizes abundancy and longevity. These reptiles have existed for over 150 million years, which means they saw rise and fall of dinosaurs.

Mexico is one of the best places in the world to dive and swim with these amazing creatures.  Riviera Maya Tulum is known as the home of the sea turtles. 

  • Best time to swim with turtles: May to August
  • Nesting season: May to October (Green turtles only)
  • Hatching season: July to December

 

To swim and snorkel with them best places in Riviera Maya would be Akumal and Punta Allen reef in Sian Ka’an Biosphere. 

If only 10 years ago all the beaches from Cancun to Punta Allen in Sian Ka’an was their home and nesting ground, now- with development of the cities along the cost, only national park area is safe and good environment for them to hatch. This is pushing them away from Riviera Maya.

 Sian Ka’an Biosphere is a UNESCO protected National Park after Tulum hotel zone and now is known as their safest, most natural home on the coast. 

Sian Ka’an National park is the only area that aims to protect flora and fauna, as well as permitting some selected Eco-tourism business, carefully allowing visitors to enjoy watching animals up close in their natural habitat and many beauties of the nature, that now unfortunately are becoming the luxury.

With the time even Sian Ka’an Biosphere is becoming Luxury getaway of Tulum, with some most luxury villas of Tulum scattered along the narrow coast line. That is why it is very important to remember that Sian Ka’an is a home of many turtles for many thousands of years first and we all need to protect them, while being lucky enough to see them.

Extinction of sea turtles could result in the endangerment or disappearance of many other marine species

 

Juvenile sea turtles

Nesting

Mating occurs next to nesting beaches, where male and female turtles meet from late March to early June for the ceremony of flirtation through nuzzling and biting. They may travel 2,000 kilometers to arrive to the mating place close to the same beach where they were born.

The nesting season happens between May and August when female sea turtles rotate between mating in the water with the males and laying eggs on land in order to choose the place for their nests to ley the eggs.

INTERESTING NESTING FACTS:

    • The position of the nest will determine whether her eggs will survive or not. A nest placed further inland will make it more dangerous for the hatchlings to reach the sea. A nest close to the sea can lose its eggs because of water proximity. That is why Mother turtles are coming to the shore looking for the beach sometimes 2 or 3 times till they find the correct place.
    •  Mother turtle digs a pit up to 2-2.5 meters deep depending on the temperature of the ground to deposits her eggs. Turtle gender directly depends on temperature of the sand. 

 

  • 32C results in female hatchlings, and cooler incubating temperatures of 28C result in males. Rising temperatures of the planet are endangering to hatch too many females and resulting in extinction. 

 

  • Turtles will lay 3-5 clutches of 40-120 eggs. 
  • After long and tiring births mother turtle returns to the sea, at the coral reef, waiting for her babies to hatch. 
  • Baby turtles, from embryos, brains’ compound, magnetite, allows them to perceive the Earth’s magnetic field and to navigate when they come out from the shells. They are so sensitive that they can feel the vibration of the ground, sea and even the moon. Because of that is very important peace and quiet for their development and when they come out presence of humans can be very distractive.
  • Incubation takes about two months, and when the hatchlings finally tear their shells apart, usually at night to avoid predators, they start traveling towards the water, guided by vibrations and the reflection of the moon and stars. 
  • Baby turtles can hardly see or hear. Any flash light can blind them for life and any noise can make them deaf.
  • Once in the ocean, they can swim for about 20 hours to find their mother.
  • Approximately only 1 egg from the nest will live to be an adult turtle due to many dangers.

Life of a sea turtle

Male Sea turtles, after taking to the water the first time, do not return to the shore. 

0-5 years juvenile turtles drift in ocean streams, feeding on plankton and then they move to coastal feeding areas for the rest of their lives. 

When sea turtles are several decades old, the females get really busy with nesting. They rotate between mating in the water with the males and laying eggs on land, returning exactly to their own birth area, where they hatched.  They mate only every 2-3 years.

Sadly, due to the pollution of water and nesting beaches, sea turtle lifespan has shortened to about 47 – 67 years, while earlier sea turtles used to live and to continue their nesting cycle until 80 years old.

ECO-LUX TURTLE HOME ON YOUR DOOR STEP

Eco-Lux Playaakun villa in Sian Ka’an Biosphere is the first of the very few strictly ecologically build luxury villas in Tulum and has more than 60 nests on only 100 meters of front beach.

  Enjoy adult sea turtles in the sea, and allow them to hatch in peace.  If you are lucky enough to observe this behavior, keep a distance and be as quiet as possible.

Sea turtles are animals that tend to be indifferent to our presence. All of us often approach them to admire or take footage of them.

FIND OUT HOW TO INTERACT WITHOUT DISTURBING THEM:

  • SWIMMING, DIVING OR ON THE GROUND CONTRARY TO WHAT YOU MIGHT THINK, THE CARAPACE, PLASTRON AND SKULL OF THESE REPTILES IS VERY SENSITIVE. FOR THIS REASON, SEA TURTLES SHOULD NEVER BE TOUCHED.
  • TOUCHING CAN FRIGHTEN THE ANIMALS AND PROLONG THEIR APNEA, CAUSING SEVERE LUNG DAMAGE IN THE WORST CASES.
  • PLEASE DON’T TAKE PICTURES WITH THE FLASH OF MOTHER OR BABY TURTLES, AS IT MIGHT BLIND THEM.
  • NO BRIGHT TOURCH LIGHTS CAN BE USED, ONLY SPECIAL RED LIGHT.
  • WHILE NESTING SEASON, NO LOUD NOISES OR MUSIC IS ALLOWED ON THE BEACH, AS IT CAN PREVENT DEVELOPMENT OF BABY TURTLES.

For these reason ALL local restaurants, shops and bars along the beach in Tulum are closing at 11PM and local fishermen respect the areas of feeding sea turtles.

Also, between the months of May and August on the beaches in Tulum you can see more patrol of the “Turtle Police” or The Riviera Maya Turtle Conservancy Guards. Not only they strictly guard the peace and quiet of the turtles, they also mark the nests when the eggs are laid in order to monitor them and put barriers for people not to walk on top of them, as that would affect their development. 

Even though there are many predators of sea turtles in nature, such as jaguars, raccoons, dogs, seagulls and others, one of the worst dangers is the presence of humans.

Let’s be respectful of the oldest inhabitants of Riviera Maya and perhaps one day we will be able to remove the “endangered” label from these beautiful creatures.

We hope that you will help us with your cooperation, especially during the turtle nesting season between May and August. Our staff will be more than happy to let you know and guide you how to observe them.



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