Second time is the charm. We heard that Wednesday there would be a baby turtle release on the Malecon around 8PM and since we pick up Uriel from Secondaria at 7 we thought we'd give it a try. No sign of anything at 8:20 so we walked down to the college turtle pen and they didn't have any ready to leave.
The next day, Thursday, there was notice saying there would be another release in front of Hotel Dorado about 8:30 to 9. The kids really wanted to see them so we tried again. The ocean temperature and the breeze made waiting easy. Sometimes late in the summer the ocean feels like and smells like a bowl of fish soup but right now it's perfect.
They brought 200 turtles in a large plastic tub and then gave us a lecture on the life of turtles from the laying eggs in a nest, how many survive and return and how far they range. The organizers did have flashlights but flash cameras are not allowed so I borrowed some fotos below. About 30 of us rubbed our hands in the sand so the turtles would get the sent of the beach and then one by one we let them go in the surf. Some babies very strong and ready to go and others more docile. If a big wave came in we had to stand still to avoid stepping on any that might be washed back. First time for all of us and a great way to educate the local kids about turtle preservation.
Melaque beach waiting for dark
What they looked like in the tub
More or less but we did each by hand
2 comments:
Great post. I didn't know they had sea turtle habitats in Melaque! My son, a wildlife biologist was involved for years in turtle research in Texas both for Wildlife and Fisheries and Natl Park Service. Fascinating, isn't it? Things like this make me realize how insignificant we are in the scheme of things........
I think warm oceans around the world have turtles. They just float by in Hawaii when snorkeling. I imagine both eggs and turtle meat have on the menu for many years. Good to see an an awareness of what they need to survive
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