Biologist Lara Cibeles

Biologist Elizabeth Flores Breton 's Interview

Elizabeth Flores Breton, a founding biologist of EcoPlan 's sea turtle protection program in Cabo San Lucas, believes strongly in conservation and protecting our natural resources in rational ways. Breton was born in Mexico City but discovered Cabo San Lucas about two years prior to our filming and commented, "In this area, taking care of nature is critical because we have the presence of many horseback riding tours and people who come in on their vehicles; sea turtle predation in this area has been going on for years, and it is important to start a conservation program for these animals."

Biologist Lara Cibeles, Leader of Planet Ecology and Conservation Camp

Biologist Lara Cibeles, who

Areas where vehicles compact the sand are too dense for turtles to nest. The biologists can often find turtle tracks that haven 't been washed away by weather and beach activity. Our video shows the parallel marks of turtle tracks. Clues are important because adult turtles try to camouflage their nests. When nests are found, the biologists enter information on field cards about the number of eggs, species, whether eggs are broken, temperature of the nest and whether the eggs are polarized. If the eggs have progressed to where a shell forms, the yolk has polarized and begun developing into a baby turtle. These eggs are left in the nest, which the team monitors, patrols and tries to protect. The biologists also mark the nests from which the eggs have been removed so that other researchers from the sea turtle protection program know that the nest has already been

Incredible Facts About Prehistoric Sea Turtles and Mexico

Sea turtles were alive at the beginning of the Mesozoic Era 225 million years ago and survived the rise and extinction of the dinosaurs. Six of the seven surviving species are threatened by humanity. Threats to the reptiles include high attrition rates for hatchlings, loss of nesting sites, poaching, coastal development, pollution and accidental entanglement in fishing nets.

These magnificent but fragile reptiles need air to breathe and places to nest on land, but they 're well-adapted to survive in oceans. The leatherback sea turtle often grows to more than 1,000 pounds, and some turtles live as long as 100 years or more. Mexico is home to more surviving sea turtles than any country in the world, so its citizens and businesses bear an especially powerful incentive to safeguard the reptiles because they 're good for the planet, good for Mexico and good