Preservation and Tracking of Cuban Peninsula Sea Turtles

Pinar del Rio, Cuba, Jun 8 . – Cuban experts are preparing their program to protect and study sea turtles in the Guanahacabibes Peninsula, where the animals arrive to nest from May to September, coordinators announced today.

The monitoring of the turtles by scientists, students and residents of the area will began next month and continue until August, when the spawning stage increases, Lazaro Marquez, director of the National Park in Guanahacabibes, told Prensa Latina.

Marquez said that as in previous years, students and professors at the University of Havana will join the project, remaining in camps at the seashore to await the arrival of these reptiles.

Once in the dunes, the species are identified and each animal's characteristics identified, while they lay their eggs in the sand.

The care of these ancient inhabitants of the ocean as well as that of their nests is one of the priorities of the initiative, in which fishermen, children and other residents of nearby communities are increasingly involved.

Schools in the remote biosphere reserve contribute to the experience, designed to perpetuate the existence of the currently endangered sea turtles.

Loggerhead, Hawksbill and Chelonia Mydas are the three varieties that nest on many beaches of the peninsula, located on the west end of the island, said Marquez.

At the same time, some turtles will be monitored by satellite in order to learn about their migratory habits.

Sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the project will provide new data on the behavior of these creatures, once called "fish with shields."(Prensa Latina)