Turtle Nesting on the Wild Side

The current sea turtles reproduction season is turning out to be more productive than those of other years, says the committee of protection to the chelonian, which has carried out already several liberations of young.

Nevertheless, it continues being necessary the cooperation of the citizenship to respect the markers of the nests, and not to travel on the other side of the island passed ten at night.

The last season that reached similar abundance was that of 2005, but the arrival of the hurricanes "Emily" in July and "Wilma" in October, affected greatly the tortoises; destroying nests and even killing young that already had emerged. Then, in 2006 and 2007, the seasons were not especially productive.

While for these dates of 2007 they had protected, in the island, around 600 nests of tortoise, for this year the figure already is 1,100 nests, among the ones that dominates with more than 900 the white tortoise, while the remainder is of tortoise turtle.

The tortoise tortoiseshell, is scarcer each year and in fact has not been sighted in this season, or has not been reported thus officially.

Cozumel is one of the last sanctuaries that remaining for these species, due to the municipality closing the highway on the other side of the island every night between May and October to avoid lootings and damages to the tortoises, besides being maintained the committee of protection to this animal, with the support of numerous volunteers of the community; all which creates a favorable situation for the reproduction of these animals.

Other institutions as the Foundation of Parks and Museums have their own programs of protection to the sea turtles in the areas to their care.

Although any distraction can prevent this species from leaving it’s eggs, returning to the sea, with a well managed program this can become another tourist event of “observation” that can produce enough money to make the program self sufficient and continue without decreasing the numbers of turtles that nest on the island beaches.