Los Cabos, specifically the lengthy stretch of beach in front of the Pueblo Bonito Pacifica and Sunset Beach Resorts within the Quivira Los Cabos resort community, is more than proving its worth as a sea turtle sanctuary this year.
Program coordinators for the community’s Sea Turtle Protection Program reported that to date, 1,735 nests have been safeguarded and approximately 174,000 eggs are in custody, which greatly exceeds the count from previous years. The season started in June, so staff naturalists are expecting many turtle hatchling releases in November and December.
Since 2003, Pueblo Bonito Resorts has directed a successful turtle nest protection and hatchling release program. As an environmental custodian, the hospitality company strongly believes in educating visitors and residents alike about active conservation. From the beginning, Pueblo Bonito’s goal has been to boost the survival rate of an endangered reptile vital to the region’s ecosystem.
According to a staff coordinator, “The program has been a resounding success and the Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) turtle population in particular is recovering favorably.”
Six of seven of the world’s turtle species, including the leatherback turtle, which attains a length of seven feet and a weight of over 2,000 pounds, live and reproduce in Los Cabos. Turtles are a national treasure. Marine biologists believe It’s up to us to take care of and protect them as part of our natural heritage, to live and share this planet with them in a harmonious and responsible way.
Adult female turtles have by now completed their annual migration to the tip of the Baja peninsula to make nests and lay eggs. Once the location of the nests is recorded, they are marked and protected after the female turtles return to the sea. Fences and structures are erected to safeguard the nests from birds, animals and humans until the sea turtles hatch. Like clockwork, the hatch started in late September and continued into October.
At the appointed hour this fall, thousands of turtle hatchlings the size of a silver dollar will scurry across the beach to the sea. Because the hatchlings are easy prey for natural predators, these gentle reptiles need all the help they can get to safely reach the water, attain maturity and increase their numbers.
The presence of turtles in the marine and coastal ecosystems where they live and reproduce is of vital importance for the life that develops in these places.
Naturalists note that sea turtles are part of two vital ecosystems: beaches and marine systems. If sea turtles diminish in number, both the beach and marine ecosystems in Los Cabos will suffer. Sea turtles use beaches and dunes to nest and lay approximately 100 eggs per nest. Dune plants use the nutrients from turtle eggs to grow and become stronger. Without the turtles, dune vegetation would lose a major source of nutrients and would not be healthy or strong enough to anchor the dunes. In time, beaches would erode and wash away. The negative impact to tourism would be incalculable.
How endangered are sea turtles? For centuries, human demand for turtle meat, eggs, skin and shells have greatly reduced their populations. In addition, destruction of feeding and nesting habitats and pollution of the world’s oceans have taken a negative toll on the remaining sea turtle populations. The perpetuation of the species hangs in the balance.
Pueblo Bonito Resorts offer their guests the opportunity to join conservation team members to carry the sea turtle hatchlings to the shallow surf, greatly enhancing their chances of survival.
Because there is no way of knowing exactly when the turtles will hatch, there is no set schedule for the releases. When the eggs in a nest begin to emerge, the director of the ecological program notifies the resorts. The event is then organized to allow guests to participate. The release is scheduled for just before sunset on that same day. Newly hatched turtles are set free on the beaches in front of the resorts. As all who have participated can testify, it is a gratifying emancipation.
