As soon as the summer begins, Puerto Vallarta welcomes the visit of hundreds of turtles that come to spawn after having traveled thousands of kilometers in the Pacific.
The director of the Marine Turtle Protection Program, Ildefonso Ramos, reported that the turtles fulfill a life cycle when returning each year to these coasts, immediately the eggs are transferred to one of the two nests in the area, the small one with capacity for 100 nests, in the beach of Hotel Secrets, and the larger one at Playa del Holly that can receive almost 900 nests.
Idelfonso Ramos said that it is important not to disturb the turtles that are spawning, “since this would cause them to return to the sea without having finishing or disorient them in their natural process.”
For this reason the recommendation of the lifeguards and ecology personnel who are in charge of monitoring the safety of this species recommend not to get closer than ten meters and if they are observed at night it is important not to illuminate them with direct lamp or with the light of the cell phone or flash camera.
The specialist said that the species that usually reach the beaches in Puerto Vallarta is the golfina and can measure between 60 and 70 centimeters, their weight ranges between 40 and 100 kilograms with a heart shaped shell. They spawn nests up to 40 centimeters deep and cover with sand using their fins.
The biologist said that the arrival of the turtles is a commitment for Puerto Vallarta, being their home in the Mexican Pacific, “the turtles have a good memory and they remain with the imprint of this place, they recognize with very specific memory the place of their birth so they come back throughout their lives. ”
Every day, during the month and a half of their arrival, they travel about 30 kilometers of coast that go from Playa de Oro in the North zone to Playa Los Muertos, to find their places of spawning and immediately put in shelter the eggs in one of the nurseries, which also have special surveillance.
Once the eggs are planted in the nests, they must wait 45 days for the first hatchings to be recorded and the offspring begin to be born. These instinctively will seek their way to the sea to begin the challenge of survival in the Pacific, it is known that only a few manage to reach adulthood hence the importance of protecting them.
It is until mid-August that visitors and locals will be able to be part of the experience of freeing the small turtles to integrate into the calm and warm waters of Puerto Vallarta.
NTR
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