Sea turtle release tour
Did you know that every year thousands of sea turtles flock to the beaches of the Oaxaca coast to lay their eggs?
In Puerto Escondido you can take a tour to release sea turtles and be part of this spectacular event.
The coast of the state of Oaxaca in Mexico is one of the favorites for olive ridley turtles to spawn and let their young grow on its beaches.
Spawning is the act that turtles perform to deposit their eggs in certain places that they believe are safe for their development.
The beaches of Puerto Escondido: Bacocho, La Barra, Zicatela and the surroundings of Puerto such as: San Agustinillo, Mazunte, Ventanilla, Zipolite and Chacahua, are the ones chosen by the olive ridley turtles to spawn and leave their eggs on these extensive beaches. so that they finish developing, the egg hatches and the turtle is born.
This species of turtles usually suffer loss of egg gestation due to the increase in temperature in the places where the eggs are deposited. This is the case of the sand on the coast of Oaxaca beaches. Due to climate change and the increase in global temperatures, the eggs do not hatch correctly and this affects the development of the species.
In addition, in the past, turtle eggs were also used as food for people.
Climate change, coupled with the theft of eggs for human consumption and the growing increase in marine litter, put olive ridley turtles in danger of extinction.
That is why the Government of Oaxaca as well as the local community have organized into different groups and organizations to take care of these turtle eggs and ensure that they can hatch perfectly and enter the sea, along with the rest of the turtles of their species.
The work these organizations do is very good. At night they collect the eggs they find on the beaches and deposit them in the turtle camps where they can control the temperature with shadows. Finally, they wait for the egg to hatch and help the turtles on their first day of life to reach the sea.
The task of a turtle to survive in its first day of life is not easy, that is why one of the main activities that can be carried out is to collaborate in the liberation of the newborn turtles so that they can reach the sea safely.
The sea turtle release tour is not just a tourist attraction. It is an activity that collaborates with the permanence of the turtles in this area and the work carried out by environmental organizations.
“You feel how the fragility of life touches your hand. It is a very touching experience. “
Amy, Ireland.
The main objective of this activity is to get the baby turtles to the sea. Task that is not simple and requires certain prior knowledge to be carried out. That is why during the tour, there will be a guide who will be in charge of telling the work of the organizations along with the dangers that these small animals live at birth to understand the importance of the experience.
After a little environmental education, each person who attends is assigned a turtle, and will have to take care of releasing it so that the turtle can reach the sea.
The percentage of turtles that reach adulthood is low since in their first hours of life they face deadly dangers such as birds, tides, other fish, etc.
It is important that this activity is carried out from a place of responsibility, understanding that it is collaborating with a fundamental function for the conservation of the turtles and the coastal ecosystems of Puerto Escondido.
If you visit Puerto Escondido and are interested in participating in activities that add value to the local community, be sure to take the sea turtle release tour.
