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Ixtapa Zihuatanejo - Ecology, Turtles preservation program, Catch and Release

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Extinction is forever... don't let it happen
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Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo is very fortunate to have one of the preferred lands on the Pacific
Ocean for the sea turtles to come ashore and lay their eggs, mostly of
the Olive Ridley type but also some
Leatherback and Hawksbill. This
takes place during the rainy season and goes as far as December or
middle of January. The
biggest number of arrivals are during the nights in the rainy season
between 1:00a.m. and 4:00a.m. and continues until the end of the cycle
with a slight decrease of arrivals.
Governments
(Federal, State and Municipality), private individuals, companies,
restaurants and particularly many hotels help in this task by collecting the eggs
and building temporary pens in the sand to protect and guard them until they
hatch.

Once
they are born, most collectors release them right away but a few hold and feed them in sea water tanks for about 7 to 14 days before
they do so. With this action
they let them grow up a little
bit to try to prevent its natural predators from killing them after the
release. They said that doing it this way they will
have a bigger chance of survival than those released right away and
because they are hold a very short time, they won't create a dependency
from humans.
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Sea turtle protective pens
Sticks show date eggs where buried and estimated hatch date |
For
example, in 1997 during our first year of combined efforts between
authorities and private sector of our destination more than 5000 young
and healthy turtles were safely released thanks to this program. In 1998
more than 7000, in 1999 more than 25000 and in the year 2000 a big
record for our program when we were able to release more than 97000.
Since then, year after year we continue with our conservation effort
with an average of 65000 to 75000 annual releases in this area and...
We feel very proud of it !!!
We
do weekly releases and at the end of the year with the help of the local
Hotel Associations we do a massive release as
a symbolic end of our annual preservation program and as a tourist
attraction for ecology consciousness, specially aimed for children
awareness. Make plans to joins us next December 31st. and help us
release the little turtles in our beaches.
Since
December 2014 this end of the year event has been cancelled.
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Thanks
to this praiseworthy program, maybe the next sea turtle you'll see was born
in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo thanks to the help,
effort and dedication of many people that care and want to conserve our
ecology for future generations.
It
is known that the "Olive Ridley" type turtle (Lepidochelys Olivacea)
reaches adulthood between the ages of 8 and 10 years old. At that time,
the females will return to the beaches where they were born to lays the
eggs and they will keep doing so every year until death. Because of the
tremendous success of our program and to prevent future overcrowding of
nest areas in our beaches, about 50% of all born little turtles are
released in nearby points to the north and south of Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo.
This action will help our ecology even more.
Curious
fact: Only the females will come to dry ground once a year to lay their
eggs, the males will never do it for the rest of their lives.
Another
curious
fact: If you attend one of our releases, watch carefully after the
little turtles go to sea. After a minute of so, they will get their
heads out of the water for 30 to 60 seconds. According to experts, this
is when they get the bearing of the place they were born and the females
will return to lay their eggs. |
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Unfortunately,
according to investigations and researches by international ecology organizations, only
4% to 6% of the born sea turtles are capable of reaching adulthood due
to their natural predators and furtive hunters. Because of this, all of
us must put our best efforts to assure their survival in our world by
NOT BUYING products or by-products made from them (oil, meat, eggs,
articles made of turtle shell, etc.). Sea turtles are in the list of
protected species in Mexico and heavy fines and/or imprisonment may be
the result if you hunt, kill or commercialize it.

Sailfish
is another of the sea life species that are very abundant in our waters.
We'll like for you to have a great time catching one but if it's
possible, please release him!!! he deserves another chance in life. The
boat's captain will tell you of those than can be released with little
harm done and that will survive to give another angler a great time.
CATCH &
RELEASE !!! |
EXTINCTION IS FOREVER... DON'T LET IT HAPPEN |
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If
you go out on a fishing trip or a tour in a boat, while navigating look
around and you will see many of the playful dolphins jumping around and
if it is a lucky day, maybe a whale en route to the Sea of Cortez in
Baja California, a family of orcas or an impressive school of yellow
tail tuna.
You can see quite a few live crocodiles (cocodrylus acutus) by Playa Linda
beach in Ixtapa, they are kept in a fenced
pond that has lookout point, and also in the stream at the end of Playa La Ropa beach in
Zihuatanejo. Please do not feed or throw
objects to them. This specie of crocodiles has been around our place
long before the first human set foot here.
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Whale inside Zihuatanejo's Bay |
If
you like bird watching, you will find a great diversity of them so bring
your binoculars. A popular attraction is to watch the arrival of
hundreds of birds every evening, just before sunset, at the entrance of
Zihuatanejo on Highway MEX-200 between the
Interstate Bus Terminal and Gas Station, where they use the electric
wiring for night lodging or in "Plaza de la Libertad de Expresion" where
hundreds of ravens arrive to spend the night in the trees... a noisy
event.
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Bring your
camera or smart-phone |
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Garrobo (large iguana) |
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Wild deer at Ixtapa Island |
Garrobos (large iguanas, dark in color),
Iguanas, Raccoons
and
White Tail Deer can
be seen in our countryside and with just a little observation you can see
them very close at Ixtapa Island. Other typical animals of our region
are
Squirrel, Gray Fox,
Porcupine, Armadillo,
Wild Boar, Hare,
Rabbit,
Wildcat,
Jaguar,
Anteater,
Badger, Kinkajou,
Ocelot, Opossum,
Skunk, Thrush,
Gopher,
Parrot, Parakeet and a great variety
of sea birds. Because nature
surrounds Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo... you will be
able to enjoy a wide diversity of wild life and exotic animals.
Release of little sea turtles in our beaches |
If
you are ecology minded, take a tour to
Park Bio La Escollera in Zihuatanejo,
near La Ropa beach and/or to
Refugio de Potosi at 25 km (15 miles) from our towns. (More
information on "Activities & Relaxation" in menu)


In
March 2012 in the City of Tepatitlan, State of Jalisco, the Federal
Government inaugurated the National Center for
Genetic Resources also known as "Noah's Ark Germplasm Seed Bank"
whose role is the
conservation of genes of animals, fishes, plants and microorganisms found
in Mexico so in case of extinction they will have the necessary genetic
materials
for reproduction. In this first stage is was built to accommodate up to
3 million samples. |
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