{"id":1480,"date":"2017-08-12T12:46:08","date_gmt":"2017-08-12T17:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/?p=1480"},"modified":"2017-08-12T12:46:08","modified_gmt":"2017-08-12T17:46:08","slug":"endangered-species-protecting-turtles-sian-kaan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/news\/endangered-species-protecting-turtles-sian-kaan","title":{"rendered":"Endangered Species – Protecting Turtles in Sian Ka’an"},"content":{"rendered":"

By far one of the most beloved and enchanting animals to roam the open waters is the sea turtle<\/strong>. \u00a0The awe-inspiring beaches along Mexico\u2019s Yucatan Peninsula<\/strong>, and those within the protected Sian Ka\u2019an Biosphere <\/strong>Reserve in particular, are important nesting areas for sea turtles including green turtles<\/strong>, hawksbill <\/strong>turtles and loggerheads<\/strong>. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nesting Turtles in the Sian Ka\u2019an Biosphere<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"Nesting<\/p>\n

The ancient ritual of female turtles returning to the very beaches where they were born (sometimes migrating more than 1,000 arduous miles in order to arrive there from their feeding grounds) is not only fascinating, it is an essential part of the survival of their species. \u00a0The mothers are driven by pure natural instinct to nest upon the shores where they hatched, dragging their heavy bodies ashore and carefully digging a nest, laying their eggs and then returning to the sea. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How Turtles are Being Protected in Sian Ka\u2019an<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

Sadly, all sea turtle species are now endangered; however there are measures being taken to ensure that the next generations will thrive. \u00a0It is illegal in Mexico to disrupt or hunt sea turtles or their eggs. \u00a0During the summer nesting season, a dedicated group of individuals including biologists and countless volunteers do whatever they can to keep the nesting mothers and their fragile turtle eggs safe. \u00a0The region is home to a turtle conservation campaign that includes patrolling along the beaches in areas like the Sian Ka\u2019an Biosphere Reserve<\/strong> at night to keep watch for mother turtles emerging from the water to dig their nests. \u00a0These efforts help keep the eggs safe from poachers as well as predators that include crabs, dogs, racoons and seabirds. <\/span><\/p>\n

When mother turtles are spotted, they are left alone to dig their nests; when they begin laying eggs, they are sometimes tagged and measured before returning to the sea. \u00a0The collection of eggs, called a clutch, can contain between 80 and 200 eggs which are collected and transferred to a special protected area where a new nest is built to resemble the original one. \u00a0These nests are carefully guarded until the eggs begin to hatch, which is typically between 45 and 60 days after being laid. \u00a0The individuals in charge of these guarded areas, as well as lucky volunteers and tourists, help ensure the baby turtles make it safely down the beach to the water where they will begin their journey through life. \u00a0With so many potential threats and hazards, most baby turtles unfortunately do not reach adulthood; those that do will hopefully return in 12 to 15 years to the Yucatan Peninsula to lay their own eggs. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How You Can Help<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

If you are visiting the Sian Ka\u2019an Biosphere Reserve<\/strong> during turtle season, you can follow some simple rules to make sure you help keep them safe. \u00a0When you encounter a turtle on the beach, let local authorities know as soon as possible. \u00a0Remain as still and quiet as you can and maintain a safe distance so the turtle does not feel threatened. \u00a0Do not approach the turtle or try to touch it, and refrain from shining any light in its direction; likewise, do not use a flash if you take any pictures. \u00a0Sea turtles are extremely sensitive to noise, movement, artificial light and objects such as beach furniture that do not belong in their natural environment. \u00a0They will often return to the water out of instinct and fear, laying their eggs at sea, so do what you can to make coming ashore a pleasant experience for them.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By far one of the most beloved and enchanting animals to roam the open waters is the sea turtle. \u00a0The awe-inspiring beaches along Mexico\u2019s Yucatan Peninsula, and those within the protected Sian Ka\u2019an Biosphere Reserve in particular, are important nesting areas for sea turtles including green turtles, hawksbill turtles and loggerheads. \u00a0 Nesting Turtles in the Sian Ka\u2019an Biosphere The ancient ritual of female turtles returning to the very beaches where they were born (sometimes migrating more than 1,000 arduous miles in order to arrive there from their feeding grounds) is not only fascinating, it is an essential part of the survival of their species. \u00a0The mothers are driven by pure natural instinct to nest upon the shores where they hatched, dragging their heavy bodies ashore and carefully digging a nest, laying their eggs and then returning to the sea. \u00a0 How Turtles are Being Protected in Sian Ka\u2019an Sadly, all sea turtle species are now endangered; however there are measures being taken to ensure that the next generations will thrive. \u00a0It is illegal in …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/endangered-species-protecting-turtles-in-sian-kaan.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nEndangered Species - Protecting Turtles in Sian Ka'an<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The beaches along Yucatan Peninsula, and those within the protected Sian Ka\u2019an Biosphere Reserve in particular are important nesting areas for sea turtles.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/news\/endangered-species-protecting-turtles-sian-kaan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Endangered Species - Protecting Turtles in Sian Ka'an\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The beaches along Yucatan Peninsula, and those within the protected Sian Ka\u2019an Biosphere Reserve in particular are important nesting areas for sea turtles.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/news\/endangered-species-protecting-turtles-sian-kaan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Paradise Blogging\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SianKaanVillage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-08-12T17:46:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/endangered-species-protecting-turtles-in-sian-kaan.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@SianKaanVillage\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@SianKaanVillage\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Social Media\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\">\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1480"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1480"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1488,"href":"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1480\/revisions\/1488"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}