The Tecolutla Turtle Preservation Project

I’ve never thought much about turtles but we had read about the Tecolutla Turtle Preservation Project in our Lonely Planet book.  The project is run out of a shack on the beach.  We walked past it several times before asking a local how to find it.  It was started 35 years ago by Fernando Manzano Cervantes.  He continues to be the driving force of the project and is known locally and by his volunteers as Papa Tortuga.  He is gregarious and charming, totally dedicated to conservation and education.  I was completely engrossed by his description of the work. 

Every April, thousands of green and Kemp’s ridley turtles arrive to lay their eggs on the beach.  They dig a deep hole and lay as many as 100 eggs before covering them with sand and heading back to sea.  Turtle eggs are considered to be good food and the shells are valued as an aphrodisiac and for tortoise shell products.   People and other predators watch for the turtle tracks in the sand and dig up the eggs. 

The foundation relies on dozens of volunteers to patrol 59km (35 miles) of beach during the laying and hatching seasons.  They dig the eggs, move the nest 50 feet, away from the tracks, and rebury them, first with a layer of sand, then mesh screening and then more sand.

Fifty days later they watch for emerging turtles, gather them up and place them in a large wading pool for a couple of days before taking them to the water’s edge and releasing them.  Volunteers and school children release the turtles.  They get to name their turtle and get a certificate of adoption.

The project is supported completely by donations and the sale of tee shirts and turtle trinkets.  If you’d like to know more www.tecolutla-turtle-preservation-project.org