Por José L. Gerhartz
Situado
en el extremo más occidental de Cuba, Guanahacabibes es uno de los últimos
lugares paradisíacos que se pueden visitar en Cuba. Un
rosario de pequeñas playas salvajes escoltado por elevados acantilados de
piedra caliza, ofrece a los visitantes en el verano la oportunidad de disfrutar
de los maravillosos paisajes costeros y sitios
de buceo
del parque, mientras que en la noche se pueden observar a las tortugas marinas que suben a anidar en las playas, un evento natural que sin importar cuántas veces usted lo haya visto, siempre le causará una profunda y renovadora impresión.
del parque, mientras que en la noche se pueden observar a las tortugas marinas que suben a anidar en las playas, un evento natural que sin importar cuántas veces usted lo haya visto, siempre le causará una profunda y renovadora impresión.
Un
pequeño equipo de cinco científicos y conservacionistas se reunieron el pasado
fin de semana en La Habana y abordaron nuestro KIA Sportage, atestado de
tiendas de campaña, colchonetas, alimentos, agua, equipo de monitoreo y lo todo
lo que podría ser necesario para apoyar nuestro trabajo de campo en
en las playas de anidación de tortugas marinas de Guanahacabibes durante
tres días. Nuestra
misión: encontrar cualquier nido que pudiera aparecer en las playas de monitoreo
del parque y establecer al menos dos perfiles para observar la dinámica de
las playas arenosas. Aquí,
un proyecto liderado por el Centro de Investigaciones Marinas de la Universidad de La Habana ha estado
trayendo voluntarios cada verano durante los últimos 15 años para monitorear varias de las playas de anidación, contar
los nidos y huevos y medir a todas
las tortugas que vienen a anidar. Con su presencia allí evitan además, que los cazadores
furtivos vengan a matar a las tortugas o a robar sus huevos.
Imagínese
en una salvaje y remota playa tropical de dorada arena fina y aguas
turquesas, rodeado de hermosos acantilados y como telón de fondo una selva de esbeltas
y delicadas palmeras y otros árboles tropicales. Y
por la noche, frente a la línea de tiendas de campaña se cocina la cena en una
fogata, mientras que se hacen arreglos de última hora para patrullar la playa
con la emoción que proporciona la esperanza de ver su primera tortuga marina emergiendo del
mar bajo el suave resplandor de la luna nueva, en
un cielo custodiado por la constelación de Escorpión y la miríada de estrellas
que componen la Vía Láctea. Estoy
bastante seguro de que esto es una imagen tentadora para cualquier persona
interesada en la naturaleza y la fauna e incluso para alguna que otra persona no tan profundamente apasionada por en estos
temas.
Desafortunadamente,
la mayoría de las veces esta no es la representación más precisa de la realidad
acerca del monitoreo de la anidación de tortugas marinas. El
paisaje es increíblemente hermoso en verdad, pero por la noche el aire está
poblado por una masa de mosquitos y otros bichos diminutos más numerosos que las
estrellas que adornan al cielo; y
este ejército de insectos pica dondequiera y en cualquier oportunidad en que sus dedicados
soldados puedan llegar a cualquier punto de la piel. Durante
el día los insectos continúan picando, pero un sol profundamente ardiente con
temperaturas superiores a 32 grados, y una humedad muy elevada pueden hacer la
vida en este “paraíso” aún más miserable.
Alrededor
del mediodía llegamos a La Bajada, un pequeño poblado de unas quince casas en
la costa sur del parque, único asentamiento humano dentro del área protegida. Aquí
se encuentran el centro de visitantes y la administración del Parque, así como
un radar y estación meteorológica. Después
de una breve entrevista con Lázaro, Director del Parque Nacional, continuamos
nuestro viaje de unos 15 kilómetros hasta llegar a una estación del Cuerpo de
Guardabosques, donde nos establecimos.
Inicialmente habíamos seleccionado la playa La Barca para nuestro campamento, pero después de los guardabosques nos ofrecieran su hospitalidad, decidimos quedarnos aquí: teníamos más agua dulce disponible - incluso para tomar una ducha al final del día- y de todos modos La Barca está a menos de 10 minutos de aquí. Dejamos nuestras pertenencias en la estación, que en realidad es un bohío, una pequeña típica casa rural cubana de paredes de tablas de palma y techo de guano. Luego, nos apresuramos para llegar a la playa La Barca para comenzar nuestro trabajo.
Inicialmente habíamos seleccionado la playa La Barca para nuestro campamento, pero después de los guardabosques nos ofrecieran su hospitalidad, decidimos quedarnos aquí: teníamos más agua dulce disponible - incluso para tomar una ducha al final del día- y de todos modos La Barca está a menos de 10 minutos de aquí. Dejamos nuestras pertenencias en la estación, que en realidad es un bohío, una pequeña típica casa rural cubana de paredes de tablas de palma y techo de guano. Luego, nos apresuramos para llegar a la playa La Barca para comenzar nuestro trabajo.
 |
| Playa La Barca, PN Guanahacabibes |
Yosvani, un joven científico del Centro de Investigación Pesqueras, junto con Julia, la líder científica del proyecto universitario de monitoreo en el parque, y Yanet, la coordinadora ejecutiva del Programa nacional de Tortugas Marinas en Cuba estuvieron a cargo de la búsqueda de los nidos. En primer lugar, sus expertos ojos analizan la arena en busca de rastros y de los agujeros hechos por las tortugas para construir los nidos (llamadas camas), con el fin de averiguar dónde podría estar ubicada con mayor probabilidad la cámara que contiene los huevos. Después de localizar un posible nido, perforan cuidadosamente la arena con una varilla delgada de acero para localizar exactamente el nido: Si la barra de repente penetra más fácilmente, esto significa que se alcanzó la cámara con los huevos.
 |
| Rastro de Caguama (Caretta caretta) |
Una vez localizado el nido, se excava hasta llegar a ver los huevos: es importante estar completamente seguros de que la tortuga en realidad anidó. Uno de los huevos se saca para observar la banda opaca, lo que indica aproximadamente por cuánto tiempo los huevos han estado incubando. Entonces se toma nota de la posición del nido, se mide el rastro tortuga, se localiza el nido con un receptor GPS, se mide la distancia a la línea de marea alta (para evaluar las posibilidades de que el nido pueda ser inundado) y si está demasiado cerca del mar y en serio riesgo de ser inundado o erosionado, se procede a trasladarlo cuidadosamente a una parte más alta de la playa.
 |
| Excavando un nido |
Mientras Yosvani, Julia, y Yanet vigilan la anidación, René y yo nos dedicamos a establecer un perfil topográfico para monitorear la dinámica morfológica de la playa. Usando una vieja, pero aun precisa brújula topográfica y un par de largas reglas de madera fijamos con cuidado varios puntos en la playa a lo largo del perfil y medimos allí su ubicación y altura relativa. Esta medición se repetirá cada mes para observar la rapidez con que se está erosionando la playa, proceso que parece estar exacerbado por el acelerado aumento del nivel del mar como consecuencia del calentamiento global. Con la erosión de las playas y creciente número de ellas utilizadas para el turismo de masas, hay cada vez menos hábitat de anidación disponibles para las tortugas marinas. Es por eso que es importante hacer un seguimiento de la dinámica de la playa.
 |
| Midiendo la playa para hacer un perfil de monitoreo de la dinámica |
Todo esto es un trabajo agotador, pero soportamos el ardiente sol hasta que terminamos la colecta de datos en toda la playa. Sólo nos tomamos unos minutos para beber un poco de desagradable agua tibia y dar un mordisco a un bocadillo. Y si logramos terminar el trabajo en esta playa antes del atardecer, entonces nos moveremos a Las Cadenas, Caleta Larga, El Holandés, Los Piojos, Antonio, Resguardo o cualquiera otra de las pequeñas playas de anidación en el Parque Nacional Guanahacabibes.
Por desgracia, no sólo encontramos nidos en algunas de las playas. Los restos de tres tortugas muertas por cazadores furtivos que, evadiendo la vigilancia de los guardabosques, llegan a algunas de las playas de anidación más alejadas para capturar algunas de ellas. La carne es consumida localmente o vendida en el mercado negro. Las hermosas conchas extraídas de la tortuga carey (en peligro crítico de extinción) son demandadas para la confección de costosas e ilegales artesanías que, o bien se venden localmente a turistas inescrupulosos en las grandes ciudades, o incluso se intentan vender a la red mundial de tráfico de vida silvestre.
 |
| Restos de una tortuga verde capturada por cazadores furtivos |
Terminamos nuestro trabajo el domingo y
regresamos a La Habana con nuestros cuerpos cubiertos por las picaduras de
insectos, y nuestro corazón empapado en una mezcla agridulce de alegría por el
trabajo bien hecho, y el dolor y la ira por las tortugas muertas... Una
cosa está clara en nuestras mentes: Tenemos que trabajar más duro aun para
salvar a las tortugas marinas para nuestros hijos, nietos y bisnietos....
By Jose L. Gerhartz
Located in the very western tip of Cuba, Guanahacabibes is one of the last paradisaical places one can visit in Cuba. A rosary of small wild beaches escorted by long tall limestone cliffs, offer the summer visitors the opportunity to enjoy the park’s wonderful coastal landscapes, and diving sites while at night watching sea turtles coming to nest, a natural event that no matter how many times you have experienced always will cause you a deep, renewal experience
A small team of five scientist and conservationists gathered last weekend in Havana to jump into our WWF´s KIA Sportage SUV, packed with tents, mats, food, water, monitoring gear and whatever could be necessary to support our field work in Guanahacabibes nesting beaches for three days. Our mission: finding any nest that could be laid in the beaches under monitoring in the park and to set at least two profiles to monitor the dynamic of the sandy beaches. Here, a project lead by the Center for Marine Science of the University of Havana has been bringing volunteers every summer to watch several of the nesting beaches, avoiding poachers to kill the turtles or robbing the eggs, while counting the nests and eggs laid and measuring every turtle that come to nest in the beaches.
Imagine yourself in a wild, lost tropical beach of golden or white fine sand and turquoise waters, surrounded by beautiful cliffs and a as backdrop a jungle of tall, thin, delicate palm trees and other tropical trees. And at night, a campfire in front of the line of tents cooks the supper, while you make the last minute arrangements for the surveillance walk with the excitement for the hope of watching your first turtle emerging from the sea under soft shining of a new moon in a sky guarded by the Scorpion constellation and the myriad of stars that compose the Milky Way. I am pretty sure this is a tempting image for anybody interested in Nature and Wildlife and even for some other not so deeply interested on these matters.
Unfortunately, the majority of the time this is not the most accurately depiction of the reality about monitoring sea turtles. The landscape is amazingly beautiful indeed, but at night the air is populated by a more dense mass of mosquitoes and other tiny flies than the sky is of stars; and this bug’s army bites you whenever and wherever its dedicated soldiers manage to reach any spot of your skin. During daytime the bugs still bites you, but a deeply burning sun and temperatures above 32 degrees with 99% of humidity can make your life in paradise even more miserable.
We arrived to La Bajada – a small village of about 15 houses in the coast of the park and single human settlement in the protected area– around midday. The Park’s visitor Centre and administration are located here, as well as a meteorological radar and weather station. After a brief interview with Lázaro, the Park’s Director, we continue our journey for some 15 km until arriving to a station of the Forest Rangers Corp where we established our camp. We previously had selected La Barca Beach for our campsite, but after being offered support by the forest rangers we decided to stay here: we had here more fresh water available – even to eventually take a shower– and anyway La Barca was less than 10 minutes away from here. We left our belongings in the ranger station that in fact is a bohio, a typical Cuban countryside small house with walls built of raw palm tree boards and roof made of palm tree leaves. Then we rushed to La Barca beach to start our work.
Yosvani, a young scientist of the Centre for Fisheries Research along with Julia, the scientist leader of the University monitoring project in the park, and Yanet, the national executive coordinator of the Marine Turtle Programme in Cuba were in charge of finding the nests. First, their very expert eyes scanned the sand searching for track marks and the holes made by the turtles while building the nests in order to find out where most likely the egg chamber could be located. After locating a possible nest they carefully punched the sand with a thin and long steel bar with a handle, in order to exactly locate the nest: If the bar suddenly drops more easily, that means that the egg chamber was reached.
Once located the nest, it is excavated until actually seeing the eggs: it is important to be fully sure that the turtle actually nested. One of the eggs is taken out to observe the opaque band, which approximately indicates for how long the eggs have been incubating. We then take note of the position of the nets, measure the turtle track, locate the nest with a GPS receiver, measure the distance to the high tide mark (to evaluate the odds for the nest to be flooded) and if it is too close to the sea and it seriously risks to be flooded or eroded, then we proceed to carefully relocate the nest to an upper part of the beach.
While Yosvani, Julia, and Yanet monitor the nesting, Rene and I are devoted to set a topographic profile to monitor the morphological dynamic of the beach. Using an old but still precise topographic compass and a couple of long wooden rulers we carefully set several points on the beach along a profile and measure there their location and relative height. This measurement will be repeated every month to observe how fast the beach is being eroded, process that seems to be exacerbated by the accelerated sea level rise, a consequence of global warming. With beaches being eroded and increasing number of them being used for mass tourism, less and less nesting habitat is left to marine turtles. That is why it is important to monitor beach dynamic.
All this is an exhausting work, but we endure under the frying sun until we finish the survey in the entire beach. We only take few minutes to drink some unpleasantly warm water and to biting a sandwich. And if we manage to end the work on the beach before sunset, we then will move forward to Las Cadenas, Caleta Larga, El Holandés (The Dutch), Los Piojos (The Lice), Antonio, Resguardo or any other of the several small nesting beaches in Guanahacabibes National Park.
Unfortunately, we not only find nests in some of the beaches. The remains of three turtles killed by poachers that, evading the ranger’s surveillance, go to some of the most secluded nesting beaches to take some of them. The meat is either locally consumed or sold in the black market. The beautiful shells taken from the critically endangered Hawksbill turtle is demanded for illegal and expensive handcraft that are either locally sold to unscrupulous tourists in the big cities or even intended to feeding the global network of wildlife traffic.
We finished our work on Sunday and returned to Havana with our bodies covered by bug's bites, and our hearts soaked in a bittersweet mixture of the joy for a job well done, and the pain and anger for the dead turtles .. . One thing is clear in our minds: We have to work harder to save the marine turtles for our children, grandchildren, great grandchildren ....
Opening of the monitoring season of sea turtle nesting
in Guanahacabibes National Park
By Jose L. Gerhartz
Located in the very western tip of Cuba, Guanahacabibes is one of the last paradisaical places one can visit in Cuba. A rosary of small wild beaches escorted by long tall limestone cliffs, offer the summer visitors the opportunity to enjoy the park’s wonderful coastal landscapes, and diving sites while at night watching sea turtles coming to nest, a natural event that no matter how many times you have experienced always will cause you a deep, renewal experience
A small team of five scientist and conservationists gathered last weekend in Havana to jump into our WWF´s KIA Sportage SUV, packed with tents, mats, food, water, monitoring gear and whatever could be necessary to support our field work in Guanahacabibes nesting beaches for three days. Our mission: finding any nest that could be laid in the beaches under monitoring in the park and to set at least two profiles to monitor the dynamic of the sandy beaches. Here, a project lead by the Center for Marine Science of the University of Havana has been bringing volunteers every summer to watch several of the nesting beaches, avoiding poachers to kill the turtles or robbing the eggs, while counting the nests and eggs laid and measuring every turtle that come to nest in the beaches.
Imagine yourself in a wild, lost tropical beach of golden or white fine sand and turquoise waters, surrounded by beautiful cliffs and a as backdrop a jungle of tall, thin, delicate palm trees and other tropical trees. And at night, a campfire in front of the line of tents cooks the supper, while you make the last minute arrangements for the surveillance walk with the excitement for the hope of watching your first turtle emerging from the sea under soft shining of a new moon in a sky guarded by the Scorpion constellation and the myriad of stars that compose the Milky Way. I am pretty sure this is a tempting image for anybody interested in Nature and Wildlife and even for some other not so deeply interested on these matters.
Unfortunately, the majority of the time this is not the most accurately depiction of the reality about monitoring sea turtles. The landscape is amazingly beautiful indeed, but at night the air is populated by a more dense mass of mosquitoes and other tiny flies than the sky is of stars; and this bug’s army bites you whenever and wherever its dedicated soldiers manage to reach any spot of your skin. During daytime the bugs still bites you, but a deeply burning sun and temperatures above 32 degrees with 99% of humidity can make your life in paradise even more miserable.
We arrived to La Bajada – a small village of about 15 houses in the coast of the park and single human settlement in the protected area– around midday. The Park’s visitor Centre and administration are located here, as well as a meteorological radar and weather station. After a brief interview with Lázaro, the Park’s Director, we continue our journey for some 15 km until arriving to a station of the Forest Rangers Corp where we established our camp. We previously had selected La Barca Beach for our campsite, but after being offered support by the forest rangers we decided to stay here: we had here more fresh water available – even to eventually take a shower– and anyway La Barca was less than 10 minutes away from here. We left our belongings in the ranger station that in fact is a bohio, a typical Cuban countryside small house with walls built of raw palm tree boards and roof made of palm tree leaves. Then we rushed to La Barca beach to start our work.
Yosvani, a young scientist of the Centre for Fisheries Research along with Julia, the scientist leader of the University monitoring project in the park, and Yanet, the national executive coordinator of the Marine Turtle Programme in Cuba were in charge of finding the nests. First, their very expert eyes scanned the sand searching for track marks and the holes made by the turtles while building the nests in order to find out where most likely the egg chamber could be located. After locating a possible nest they carefully punched the sand with a thin and long steel bar with a handle, in order to exactly locate the nest: If the bar suddenly drops more easily, that means that the egg chamber was reached.
Once located the nest, it is excavated until actually seeing the eggs: it is important to be fully sure that the turtle actually nested. One of the eggs is taken out to observe the opaque band, which approximately indicates for how long the eggs have been incubating. We then take note of the position of the nets, measure the turtle track, locate the nest with a GPS receiver, measure the distance to the high tide mark (to evaluate the odds for the nest to be flooded) and if it is too close to the sea and it seriously risks to be flooded or eroded, then we proceed to carefully relocate the nest to an upper part of the beach.
While Yosvani, Julia, and Yanet monitor the nesting, Rene and I are devoted to set a topographic profile to monitor the morphological dynamic of the beach. Using an old but still precise topographic compass and a couple of long wooden rulers we carefully set several points on the beach along a profile and measure there their location and relative height. This measurement will be repeated every month to observe how fast the beach is being eroded, process that seems to be exacerbated by the accelerated sea level rise, a consequence of global warming. With beaches being eroded and increasing number of them being used for mass tourism, less and less nesting habitat is left to marine turtles. That is why it is important to monitor beach dynamic.
All this is an exhausting work, but we endure under the frying sun until we finish the survey in the entire beach. We only take few minutes to drink some unpleasantly warm water and to biting a sandwich. And if we manage to end the work on the beach before sunset, we then will move forward to Las Cadenas, Caleta Larga, El Holandés (The Dutch), Los Piojos (The Lice), Antonio, Resguardo or any other of the several small nesting beaches in Guanahacabibes National Park.
Unfortunately, we not only find nests in some of the beaches. The remains of three turtles killed by poachers that, evading the ranger’s surveillance, go to some of the most secluded nesting beaches to take some of them. The meat is either locally consumed or sold in the black market. The beautiful shells taken from the critically endangered Hawksbill turtle is demanded for illegal and expensive handcraft that are either locally sold to unscrupulous tourists in the big cities or even intended to feeding the global network of wildlife traffic.
We finished our work on Sunday and returned to Havana with our bodies covered by bug's bites, and our hearts soaked in a bittersweet mixture of the joy for a job well done, and the pain and anger for the dead turtles .. . One thing is clear in our minds: We have to work harder to save the marine turtles for our children, grandchildren, great grandchildren ....