Protection of sea turtles
Since our arrival in Cambutal, we've been committed to having a positive impact on our immediate environment. We quickly realized that something unusual was happening on the beach in front of our house. Every walk was an opportunity for us to see how the natural life cycle of sea turtles was being disrupted by human activities.
An alarming observation
The number of turtles that come to lay their eggs on the beach in front of the house is quite impressive. According to our initial findings, there could be nearly 1,000 turtles that come to lay their eggs on a 5-kilometer stretch of beach over a period of 6 months! Unfortunately, some customs die hard and we estimate that 70% of these nests are illegally looted by poachers. The eggs are then resold for human consumption in neighboring towns. When it is not the poachers who plunder the nests, they are regularly victims of stray dogs, poorly educated and/or malnourished. The result is distressing, nests ripped open all along the beach, day after day, an extremely low nest survival rate which explains why the populations of olive ridley turtles as well as green turtles, the two main species that we come across in front of our house, are in free fall .
Our Reaction
Witnessing this ecological disaster every day, we decided to act. The first year was a learning curve for us; we made mistakes and had our ups and downs, but our commitment to these majestic animals allowed us to release 7,788 healthy baby turtles. This is the result of tireless work, night walks for several kilometers every day to find the nests before the poachers, and many hours admiring/protecting the baby turtles as they make their way to the sea. In total, we collected 148 nests! 80% of them were intact, and 20% had already been partially destroyed by dogs.
Our commitments
This year we want to do even more, we could multiply this number by 3, maybe even by 4! But to do this we need a helping hand! There's no secret, the more time we spend on the beach, occupying the land, the less impact poachers will have. That's why, during the upcoming breeding season, we will implement an action plan that will allow us to increase our impact and the number of baby turtles released.
First, we began building a relationship of trust with the sea turtle protection association Tortuagro, established in Cambutal in 2010. Their knowledge of the area and the turtles is a valuable asset.
You can help us!
We invite you to come spend your vacation with us to give them a better chance of survival. We can train you in egg collection and share with you the magical and rewarding moments of baby turtle releases. All in a spectacular and wild setting. Profits from this tailor-made offer will be directly reinvested in turtle conservation in Cambutal.
The second way to help us is to join our volunteer program. We invite you to spend several weeks with us to actively participate in conservation efforts. You will be trained and quickly become independent as you patrol the beach in search of turtles and their eggs. You will also be responsible for releasing baby turtles and performing various tasks necessary for the program to run smoothly.
For those who wish to participate but are unable to come and spend time in the field, we offer another alternative. We are currently running a crowdfunding campaign. Indeed, our goodwill is not enough, and we cannot cover the costs incurred by this project alone.
If you would like to participate in any way, please contact us and share our fundraising campaign!
