Turtle Release



An Olive Ridley Hatchling

The Box of Hatchlings

Biologist Passing Out the Hatchlings

Hatchlings Heading for the Sea

Today we had the unique opportunity to participate in the release of baby sea turtles at a local beach near Marina El Cid in Mazatlan.  Conservation programs help protect and save the endangered Olive Ridley Sea Turtles along the west coast of Mexico.  Thanks to city, state, and federal agencies as well as private organizations, the Olive Ridley has made a comeback.  Several hotel and marina resorts, including Marina El Cid, help in this effort by inviting guests to learn more about preservation practices.  Our tour from Marina El Cid included a visit to the Mazatlan Aquarium who sponsor a program to protect these precious turtles.  The Aquarium partners with local resorts so tourists can participate in the release of the hatchlings.  We got to see an adult Olive Ridley Turtle and the aquarium and saw various fish, coral, and other creatures of the sea.  The Mazatlan Aquarium includes a small zoo with prehistoric creatures like frogs, toads, snakes, crocodiles, and ostrich.  Frogs and Turtles are actually the last living representatives of the “Jurassic Period” and scientists can trace these creatures to the days of the dinosaurs!  Every summer Olive Ridley Turtles return to their native beaches to lay their eggs, venturing hundreds of miles before arriving at their birth place.  The nesting season takes place June through November; females lay about a hundred eggs and may nest up to three times a year.  The eggs incubate for approximately 55 days before they hatch.  After our tour of the aquarium, we were taken to a beach near Marina El Cid to release the hatchlings.  Hatchlings are released at dusk so they can follow the light of the setting sun; it is also believed that they can hear the sound of the ocean.  The aquarium's resident biologist gave each of us a hatchling and asked that we name our baby turtle before placing it about 20 feet from the ocean surf.  We watched as the hatchlings slowly made their way over the sand heading towards the sea.  As the surf rolled into shore, the waves washed over the turtles, sometimes flipping them on their backs and washing them up on the beach from wince they had started.  They struggled to flip themselves over and then once again began heading towards the sea.  It reminded us of the 1966 film and song entitled “Born Free,” a story about survival in the wild.  Hatchlings are dark gray in color and appear black when wet.  As they grow older, they turn an olive green for which they are best known.  Our babies, which we named Veloz and Rodriguez, will feed on algae, and when older feed on jellyfish, sea urchins, shrimp, crabs, rock lobsters, and worms.  The species Lepidochelys olivacea or Olive Ridley are medium sized turtles with a shell length of about 2 feet and weigh between 80 and 100 pounds.  Known predators of the Olive Ridley include raccoons, feral dogs, birds, the ghost crab, the sunbeam snake, oceanic fishes, sharks, and crocodiles.  Additional threats come from boat collisions, incidental takes by fishing nets, and decimated nests on beaches take a significant toll.  Turtle preservation programs have helped increase the turtle population by harvesting eggs and keeping them safe at the lab covered in their native sand.  It's fascinating to learn that eggs incubated at temperatures of 31-32 degrees Celsius will produce only females; eggs incubated at 28 degrees Celsius or less produce only males; and incubation temperatures of 29-30 degrees will produce a mixed sex clutch.  After our hatchlings had safely reached the sea, we returned to Marina El Cid where participants enjoyed dinner at the resort’s restaurant.  We had a great time with the group which consisted of Mexican, Canadian, and U.S. tourists in addition to our guide, Julio.  Julio presented everyone with a certificate, which included the chosen name for each turtle.  We certainly hope our little hatchlings Veloz and Rodriguez overcome the 10-15 percent chance of survival and live to the ripe old age of 50 years.


Rodriguez On His Way




Such a Cute Turtle Face

Adult Olive Ridley Turtle