Today, however, the turtle will not be killed for profit. Biologist Samantha only takes a blood sample. Afterwards she measures and marks the turtle. Samantha wants to analyse the genes by checking the blood-samples at her university. With this information she hopes to make new discoveries about the little-understood reproductive habits of the 250 million-year-old species. Satellite transmitters are attached to a few of the turtles in the hopes that biologists of the Mexican Turtle Centre can draw conclusions about the animal’s frequent migration.

Every three years, thousands of female turtles come to the Escobilia Beach, just west of Mazunte, to deposit their eggs. For the animals it is a gruelling process. In the water they are graceful and elegant, but in the space of only two nights during the new moon, they must struggle their way up the beach. Once the eggs are hatched, their offspring face hostile conditions from the start. Predators such as vultures, dogs, and giant crabs are a constant threat. Surprisingly, their fiercest enemy is a certain species of beetle that attack turtle eggs by the thousands. The Mexican Turtle Centre concentrates on examining this beetle-species: Which part of the beach and what type of sand does the beetle prefer? How can the turtle’s nest be protected? Just one dead egg changes the temperature of the entire clutch of eggs and can be collectively fatal. Because of the scientist’s work the population of the Tortuna Golfina has almost been stabilized.

After the baby-turtles are hatched, it has become a major attraction for tourists to release them at the beach in front of the Institute. In this way, the biologists make sure that enough hatchlings survive. Children’s hands lift the baby-turtles carefully out of carrier-boxes. It’s only a couple of steps to the shore.