Turtle
Sanctuary
Description
of the field work from Estrella del Mar
The
marine tortoises, charismatic creatures and ancient possessors
of a lineage of more than 200 million years, for many
decades swam in the oceans in very large groups. Today,
the worst problems for the survival of the marine tortoises
are the human beings because humans use them indiscriminately
for their own benefit.
The economic importance of the tortoise was fundamental for
the fishing industry for many years: the eggs, the meat,
the oil, the skin, and the shells were in great demand.
Nevertheless, a harmonic balance existed between the human
consumers and this natural resource. The existence of
the marine tortoise was put in danger when it was discovered
that their skin had characteristics adapted for the fur
industry. From this moment the hunt for tortoises increased
exponentially. This put in danger the conservation of
the species to such a degree that 8 species of marine
tortoises are listed as endangered.
From
1998, Stone Island Development Company could no longer
support the program for the protection of the marine tortoises,
so Estrella del Mar created and supported the Program
of Protection and 
Conservation
of Marine Tortoises. This program supports working
with the live animals to try to protect them from becoming
extinct. This represents a great responsibility and a
full time person with expertise in this area was required
to run this program.
The
nesting season was beginning and the first tortoises were
starting to come to nest on the beaches in the first days
of July. It was time to find someone who would take charge
and handle the program. To the benefit of the company
and tortoises, we contracted the professional services
of the Marine Biologist Eréndira Gonzalez Diego.
The
labor of Eréndira Gonzalez during the nesting season
required her attention day and night. From the first days
of July, without stopping for either Sundays or holidays,
she went out to the beach at dusk. She drove in her old
vehicle 17 km in both directions, to wait to see which
tortoises would come to spawn.
It
is important to maintain silence and distance when seeing
the tortoise come out of the sea. If the tortoise feels
besieged she returns to the water. As soon as the tortoise
has dug her nest and starts spawning, she remains until
she finishes her breeding function. This lasts approximately
15 minutes. While the tortoise is in this situation, she
neither feels nor hears. This is when Eréndira
is useful to measure the tortoise and to document her
information. When the tortoise finishes the spawning she
covers the nest with sand, forming a big circle with the
intention of confusing the predators.
If
Eréndira had not been present it would be very
difficult for her to find the nest since the tortoises
are expert in camouflaging their nests. After finishing
this labor the mother returns to the sea. All this operation
lasts about 45 minutes.
Eréndira at the time starts carefully digging the
nest, puts sand at the back of a container to preserve
the temperature and gathers the eggs that she places in
the container with care. Immediately she measures the
depth of the nest and records this information as well
as the number of opposing eggs. She then returns the sand
to cover the nest. With this valued information she goes
to the camp to where she digs a nest with equal dimensions
and places the eggs there, out of danger of predators.
She marks the place with a stake with an assigned number
that allows her to monitor the burying for every nest.
The
decision to bury the eggs in a protected area justifies
itself because the local people invade the beach and plunder
these tortoises for the pregnant females and the eggs.
Then
again Eréndira crosses the beach to wait for another
tortoise to come out, repeating her labor until dawn.
During the summer when most tortoises come out to lay
eggs, she obtains the help of a group of the State Preventive
Police who take charge of the safety so she can do the
work and the compilation.
When
the first nests reaches the end of the incubation period
after 45 days, she has to dedicate her time to supervising
the releasing of the babies. The camp is a distance from
the shore of the sea and it would be dangerous for the
baby tortoises make the trip to the sea alone.
Eréndira
puts them in a box and takes them to the beach, putting
them in the sand in order that they stamp their fingerprint
on their native beach, which 
they
will recognize when they themselves reach the adult age
and come to spawn. And she says good-bye to the baby tortoises
as they enter full speed into the sea and swim away. Often
the children of the local schools take part in this ceremony.
Each child takes a baby tortoise in his/her hands to say
goodbye and releases it on the beach. Eréndira
first invites them to visit the camp where she explains
to them the whole process that leads to the birth of the
baby tortoises before they participate in the release.
This educational labor is undoubtedly the most important
since these new generations will value and take care more
of this important natural resource.
