Consequences of the Fishing Industry

Thursday, July 12^th

We attempted to release the injured pelican yesterday after feeding it some water and electrolytes, but it was unable to fly away. We were really hoping that it just needed a night of rest, but it was more injured than we thought so we put it back in the cage. Then, we blended some fish up and fed it because it was refusing to eat the live fish we put in its cage. Hopefully after some food in its belly, it will be strong enough to fly if its wing isn’t too injured.

The Inauguration for the turtle nesting season is this Saturday, so we spent most of the day finishing up projects to make the park look nicer, such as repainting, sweeping, raking, and picking up trash on the beach. One of the volunteers had to go to Monterrico, so TJ and I decided to tag along and get more cake. This time we got a small strawberry and vanilla cake. It was delicious! I’m going to treat myself to sweets more often down here!

We decided to eat at Myra’s house again (a local woman) because her food was so good last time. However, just as we were on our way out, we got a call from Alice (ex-ARCAS volunteer) stating that a dead turtle had washed up. She has been collecting data on the stranded/dead turtles as well as the appearance of the shrimp boats in order to prove that they are resulting in dead animals. She doesn’t have a GPS though, so she needed us to go to the turtle and use ours. It was probably one of the most disheartening things I have seen so far. Its carapace (shell) was almost completely cracked down the middle probably due to a run in with a boat (most likely a fishing boat). The worst thing about the whole situation is that a parlamero (one of the local egg collectors) walked right by the turtle carcass without even looking and then flicked his cigarette about two feet away. They just have such a blatant disregard for the species, which makes it hard to work with them. I have to admit that after seeing the turtle I became a little depressed and had to force myself to eat the meal Myra prepared. I know this part of the harsh reality of current sea turtle predicament, but I’m hoping I won’t see another dead turtle for awhile. 

 The cracked carapace

 

 :(

Hatchery Finished!

Wednesday, July 11^th

We FINALLY finished the roof on the main hatchery, leveled all of the sand, and painted the inside. It is just in time for this weekend, which is the inauguration of the sea turtle nesting season. Now we just have to finish the El Rosario hatchery and clean the parque up for the visitors that are supposed to be coming.

During the middle of the day (aka when it is scorching hot), we usually take a little time off to nap/rest/take time off. Today, TJ (one of the volunteers) and I decided to take the parque’s two kayaks into the mangroves. It was much better than going in the boat because the birds weren’t as frightened by us. We had a great time going into the nooks and crannies of the mangroves as well as enjoying the sunshine and birds. 

My favorite bird spotting was a juvenile night heron. It was so cute and fluffy and surprisingly not scared of us at all!

 The juvenile night heron!

 

However, our trip took a somber note when we decided to walk back on the beach instead of walking the main road. We found two dead brown pelicans, many fish, and a dead possum (the possum seems to be separate and unrelated). The culprit for the death of the marine animals most likely was the shrimp boat that we have seen on the horizon for the past couple days. When they cast their nets, they catch not only shrimp, but various fish and often turtles. Luckily, we didn’t see any turtles wash up. We are guessing that the two pelicans that we saw got caught in the net while trying to eat some fish and ended up either breaking their necks or drowning. This is probably one of the main reasons why I don’t eat seafood. Most of the time, catching one type of sea creature actually results in the death of many others unnecessarily. 

The shrimp boat in question

The dead brown pelican (COASST shoutout!) 

 

When we got back to the parque, we found out that some of the other volunteers had rescued a live pelican that had been caught in a net. We caught some fish for it, but I think the bird was too stressed to eat. It looks like it might have an injured wing and we are unsure if the bird will be able to make it. Fingers crossed!

Natural Phenomenons

Tuesday, July 10^th

Today, we worked on getting the palm leaves for the hatchery. Mariachi cut them down from various trees in the park and then we dragged them to the hatchery. It was hard work especially because this was one of the hottest days so far. In order to cool off, we all took a dive in the ocean. The waters here are pretty strong though. San Diego has some pretty strong rip currents, but they don’t hold a candle to the ones here! As soon as I felt myself getting pulled out, I got out of the ocean completely. The ocean here is fun to play in, but you just have to be careful.

After our swim, we went to the local school to pick up some piñatas. The children had made some for us to use during the turtle season inauguration party that we hold for the local children. We all got to pick our favorite two then bring them back to the parque. I picked a crazy looking pear and the number 4. I didn’t realize it was the number 4 when I first picked it though…I thought it was an upside down donkey! It was super sweet for the children to make us piñatas and I loved looking through all of the different ones.

 Everyone's favorite piñata: a crazy-eyed strawberry

On returning to the parque, TJ and I played Frisbee on the beach. It was such a normal beach activity that it relieved a little bit of the homesickness I have been feeling recently. During the middle of our Frisbee session, it started raining, so we went up to the parque’s watch tower to watch the lightning show. I have to admit that lighting might be one of my favorite natural phenomenons. I could watch lightning stream across the sky for hours…it is just so cool!

The sunset right before the lightning show

Later on in the evening, I spent time talking to Emilio (the helper of a Guatemalan researcher studying the mangroves). I learned that he owns an organic farm just outside of Guatemala City. I was so interested to hear about his farm because I had no idea that organic farming existed here. It was also refreshing to meet an environmentally conscious Guatemalan because as he explained they are far and few between. He also extended an invitation to see and stay at his farm. I’m definitely going to take him up on it! I love going to other countries and meeting and talking to like minded people. This trip so far has been FILLED with interesting people, which I am very thankful for!

Cage Cleaning

Monday, July 9^th

As I have mentioned before, the park keeps freshwater turtles and iguanas that have been confiscated by the police. Over the past week, the other volunteers and I noticed that the cages the animals are kept in could use some work. For the most part, they consist of a water pool, feeding area, and dirt. There aren’t really any natural fixtures in the cages, so we decided to recreate their natural habitats to the best of our ability.

We started with the iguanas’ cage. We raked all the leaves and old food from the dirt, and then we removed some rotting wood that they had been using to sun themselves. We replaced the wood with new branches, and then fashioned them in a way which they could climb and sun themselves better. Next, we added some rocks for additional sunning spots. Finally, we planted small coconut trees throughout the cage. It ended up looking so much better than when we started. Almost as soon as we left the cage, they started climbing on their new branches. For the most part, they are pretty timid and rarely come out of their corner hiding spots, so the fact that they came out so quickly seems to tell me that they like their new habitat. 

For the turtles, we did more of an overhaul. We emptied out their water pool and scrubbed the bottom. We also raked and planted more coconut trees. Pulling from my own experience with caring for a tortoise, we created a spot in the corner filled with dry leaves so that the few tortoises we have could bury themselves.  Almost as soon as we made it, they started making their way towards the leaves! Next, we built more steps for them to reach their water pool because many of the smaller turtles would struggle to make it in and out of the pool. Finally, we scrubbed each and every turtle shell because they were covered with algae. It was pretty sad actually. We also convinced the park director, Glenda, to let us release more turtles into the mangroves, so they wouldn’t get to that algae covered state again. Sorry for the slightly blurry pictures...I didn't realize there was stuff on my camera lens until after we were done.

 Before: A turtle covered in algae

 After: A clean turtle! 

Me cleaning one of the little guys!

All the animals looked so much happier after we fixed their cages! So far, this has been the most rewarding day of my stay here because I felt like I actually made a positive difference in these animals’ lives. I need days like this especially because the situation with the sea turtles is so frustrating at times.

Guatemalan Birthday

Sunday, July 8^th

During the morning, we continued to level out the dirt of the main hatchery. Who knew digging was so time consuming! I will be so happy when we finally have this hatchery prepared. After some hatchery work, a couple volunteers and I headed to Monterrico to get a birthday cake for Glenda (the park director). I was curious to see how the cakes here would look and taste so it was really interesting to go the bakery and look at our options. We settled on a tres leche cake with vanilla frosting.

For her birthday dinner, we ate in Monterrico at the restaurant El Pelikano (The Pelican). They actually had a real white pelican there that they rescued after it broke its wing. Now it walks around the restaurant and swims in their small fountain.  After a week and a half of Guatemalan food (aka eggs, beans, and rice), I was happy to go for some American food…the other American volunteer (TJ) and I settled on hamburgers and fries! We had a great time relaxing and joking around. Then, it was time for cake! It was super moist and the consistency was unlike any other cake I have ever tried. I’ve decided that I like Guatemalan cake…TJ and I already have plans to go back to Monterrico and get another cake haha. 

 The white pelican

Another nest!

Saturday, July 7th 

Today was a pretty uneventful day. I spent most of the day running through all of our protocols and seeing what equipment we had and what equipment we needed. It wasn’t the most interesting task, but it was definitely an important one.  I’m hoping that the list we sent to the administrative director is seriously considered and that most of our requests are filled. Unfortunately, the organization is seriously underfunded, but according to my past experiences with non-profits that seems to be the case for a lot of them.

While out on our patrol, we ran into Alice (an expatriate from the US who used to volunteer with ARCAS, but now walks the beach by herself). She gathered some tourists to watch a nesting turtle in hopes of having them buy the nest from the parlameros (egg snatchers). Unfortunately, none of the tourists decided to be generous, so we used ARCAS funds to buy the nest. The price was slightly cheaper than last time, but it still was quite expensive. Alice walked back with us and gave us a more in-depth description of how to bury the nest than the one we had received earlier. It is nice to know that she is out patrolling the beaches too due to her passion for sea turtles and her vast pool of knowledge when it comes to their behaviors.