We had the good fortune to be able to attend a turtle hatching during our stay in Guatemala. If that seems like an unusual activity, it's because of the really complicated back story of turtles and turtle eggs in Guatemala, and the services that work to conserve turtles and keep them coming to the area.
Monterrico Beach, near the turtle preserve.
The turtles have a natural habitat on a section of beach near Monterrico, Guatemala. On that 8-km section of beach, they come ashore to lay their eggs between August and November.at night, when they have the greatest chance of avoiding predators: The birds are asleep; crabs are resting; there is no light to show where the eggs are being laid/buried.
At the Parque Hawaii turtle conservation site
As soon as the eggs have been laid, she covers them with sand, compacts the sand slightly with her body weight and flippers, and then crawls back to the ocean. Of course, the chance the eggs will make it to maturity, hatch and allow the babies to make it back to the ocean are exceedingly slim. Enter various volunteers and services to aid in conservation.
Each of these fenced spaces holds 40-80 eggs
We were called at our hotel to say that within the next 30-90 minutes there would be a turtle hatching, which we were welcome to come and observe. We donned some mosquito repellent, took off our shoes and walked about 1/5 of a mile from our hotel (Hotel Honolulu) to the Parque Hawaii Preserve.
This is a bit of an overstatement, as the “preserve” is a series of structures used to house turtle eggs during the incubation period before they are released into the wild. A charitable service that depends on donations of money and services allows for conservation and preservation of turtles in this region.
Just beginning to hatch and crawl out of the sand...
Guatemala is one of the few countries that still allows commercial sale of turtle eggs. Locals will sell the eggs to people who swallow them raw, believing they are an aphrodisiac! Because of this belief, thousands of eggs are destroyed. But, Parque Hawaii, and several other such programs, work to save them by by exchanging food vouchers for the eggs and enlisting local children as volunteers in finding the eggs.
They hope this will develop a sense of conservation in the children, who will be the leaders of the future. It is a tough “sell,” since they often run out of money to provide the vouchers. As tourists we were able to “pay” for the privilege of releasing baby turtles to the wild, and with this money, Parque Hawaii is able to purchase food, creating the voucher program for the egg exchanges.
Out of the sand, and ready to head to the ocean
My wife and I arrived at the hatchery area with a few minutes to spare. When the turtles are ready to hatch, they break through their shells, collapsing the sand around the rest of the egg shells, which creates a funnel or cone, which allows them to climb out and make their way to the water.
Several different theories exist, but it has long been held that the turtles need to hatch and struggle to get to the water so their own internal GPS mechanism is established and set to allow them to come back. Others believe that anywhere within a couple of miles of the beach is fine. The baby turtles have a two-stage energy spurt: the first is used getting out of the shell; the second spurt is used to crawl across the expanse of beach sand to the water.
15-minute old turtle
We watched as the little (2 inch) turtles began to wiggle and squirm all over each other in an effort to make it to the ocean. We were allowed to pick each one up and place them in a bucket for transportation from the hatchery to the beach. We counted out 48 baby turtles. They were amazingly energetic, frantically moving their flippers in an effort to move forward.
How cute do you think I am?
When we were about 20 meters from the water’s edge, we turned the bucket over, and let them all scramble out over one another as they “homed” for the water. Some were faster and more direct than others, but all were busy crawling their way as quickly as they could towards the water. Within about 10-12 minutes, all of the turtles had made it to the water, engulfed by the waves and carried out into the ocean to start their lives.
The race to the ocean begins
I was very moved by the experience of seeing these little creatures so full of energy and life struggling to get to the water. Alas, the statistics are that only 1 out of a 1000 actually survive. This means than for every turtle that lays 90 eggs, 11 or 12 turtles have to lay enough eggs for only one of the babies to survive. These are heart crushing numbers. They are eaten by crabs, consumed by birds (especially pelicans), and are many times crushed into the rocks by heavy currents.
Almost there...
Nonetheless, they show a truly indomitable spirit. And we were pleased to be watching the babies get to the ocean in the dark.
Finally, the water arrives...
In the next blog, we’ll tell you about our other turtle experience, watching the mother turtles lay their eggs.
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