TCF-funded in 2005

Grassroots education and awareness programmes about Kemp's ridley turtles, Mexico: The Kemp's ridley is the rarest marine turtle on earth. Most adult Kemp's ridley females nest on a stretch of beach called Rancho Nuevo, in the middle of Mexico's Gulf of Mexico coast. The Gladys Porter Zoo Kemp's Ridley Project has been supporting Mexican and American conservationists and researchers working towards the recovery of this unique population. As a result of egg poaching and hunting of nesting turtles for meat, the Kemp's ridley turtle was close to extinction in the 1980s. The good news is that despite an all time low of only 702 nests laid during the 1985 nesting season, in 2005 over 10,000 nests were laid and the population appears to be on the road to recovery. With MCS support the Gladys Porter Zoo project established a grass-roots environmental education programme targeting the local communites close to the Rancho Nuevo beaches. Workshops, seminars and presentations were held at community centres and schools and local people were invited onto the nesting beaches during the nesting season to witness the research and conservation in action. For more information about this project, click here.

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