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TURTLES
Most of the life of these turtles runs in the sea, but they return to land always to spawn. At night when the sun sets, turtle moms swim to the beaches of Tulum, dig with their fins a nest of about 50 or 60 centimeters, lay their eggs (between 85 and 120 eggs for spawning), bury them with sand and return to the sea.
It takes about 50 to 60 days for the baby to hatch, but the dangers for these baby turtles is to get to the sea before a predator devours them or the sun burns them, so they try to do so at night.
THREATS TO THE CAGUAMA TURTLE
The main predators of turtles are sharks and humans. Adults could attack with their hard bite or shell, but the eggs and offspring have no defense whatsoever, so this represents a serious problem for reproduction and future survival.
At birth, newborns usually emerge at night to avoid predators such as crabs, gulls, vultures, crows, raccoons, dogs, etc. but they do not always manage to escape from them.
CAGUAMA TURTLE
This species is one of the largest, measuring from 71cm to 1.5m in length and maintains a weight of 68-190 kg.
The largest green turtle ever recorded, reached the staggering weight of 395 kg. Males are larger than females. Their heads are small in comparison of their body and their fins in the form of oar are perfectly adapted for the swimming.
Their shell varies according to the geographical location of the species, as it has olive, brown or black tones. Similarly, color can change over time.
Green turtles can not put their heads to hide inside their shell, thus they are more vulnerable.
According to scientific studies, green turtles reach sexual maturity from 20 to 50 years.
When the female is fertilized, it reaches the coasts in search of a suitable place to dig a hole in the sand that will serve for the nesting of the eggs. It can deposit between 100 and 200 eggs and once it is finished, it is responsible for covering them of sand so that they are not detected by the predators. The female does not protect that cavity, but returns to the sea again.
The eggs are split approximately after 45 to 75 days, and the pups use their small teeth to break the shell.
THREATS OF THE GREEN TURTLE
From the moment they are spawned, turtles are very prone to be eaten by raccoons, foxes, snakes, coyotes, opossums, rats, vultures, ants and man himself. The water has other dangers such as sharks, dolphins and other large fish. Only a few turtles make it to adulthood.
Man is the main responsible for the reduction of green turtle specimens, as he illegally markets its eggs or hunt them when they are adults to obtain their skin to use it as leather to make handbags and other articles.
Turtle meat, fat and cartilage is also consumed, especially in China and Indonesia.
GREEN TURTLE
In Tulum and Riviera Maya, authorities and hotel owners are very aware of this, there is even a Sea Turtle Festival that is held every year since 2003 and aims to sensitize the local population and tourists about the protection of sea turtles, one of the most primitive groups of vertebrates in existence and now in danger of extinction.
SEA TURTLE
GREEN HABITAT INTERVENTION
It is important to emphasize before the community of Green Habitat Preservation, the necessary techniques to give the correct protection of the turtles in Tulum. Because both species are in danger of extinction, the loggerhead turtle and the green turtle, we propose within this social integration, that some nests are transferred to a restricted beach, at a distance of about 40 meters from the sea, where a mesh is placed to prevent local animals such as the raccoon or badger devour the eggs, so that their birth is performed in optimal conditions. All this within a small creek next to the magical archeological sites of Tulum.