Baby Turtles?

Sea turtles come ashore on the beaches of Mexican mainland to lay their eggs, the Olive Ridley and Kemp's Ridley being the most common. When the babies hatch, they have about 24 hours to make it to the sea for safety. By instinct, they have to find the right direction, then run the gauntlet of debris, animals (coyotes, snakes, etc) and sea birds (mostly gulls, gannets, and pelicans) to reach the surf. In the water, birds still hunt them, and they are prey to larger animals and fish. They are caught in fishing nets and die. On small beaches like the one in Bahia San Pedro, only about 10% of the babies make it to the sea, and, overall, about 1% of all sea turtles hatched survive to become adults (http://www.vallartasource.com/eco_turtle.php).



We were not there on the full moon when these babies set out on their journey, but saw evidence of their tracks on the beach.