Wow the weather broke and were diving with Turtles on every dive. Its the time of the year the big guys come back to where they where born to mate.
The females will be nesting shortly after.
heres some good info on whats going on.
Courtship & Mating

Courtship and mating for most sea turtles are believed to occur during a limited "receptive" period prior to the female's first nesting emergence. Afterwards, only females come ashore to nest; males almost never return to land once they leave the sand of their natal beach. During mating season, males may court a female by nuzzling her head or by gently biting the back of her neck and rear flippers. If the female does not flee, the male attaches himself to the back of the female's shell by gripping her top shell with claws in his front flippers. He then folds his long tail under her shell to copulate.

Females observed on the nesting beach after recently mating often have scratched shells and may be bleeding from where the males' were hooked to their shells. Copulation can take place either on the surface or under water. Sometimes several males will compete for females and may even fight each other. Observers of sea turtle mating have reported very aggressive behavior by both the males and females. Females may mate with several males just prior to nesting season and store the sperm for several months. When she finally lays her eggs, they will have been fertilized by a variety of males. This behavior may help keep genetic diversity high in the population.
MORE
http://www.cccturtle.org/seaturtleinformation.php?page=behavior

"Copulation can take place either on the surface or under water. Sometimes several males will compete for females and may even fight each"

HEY...........I went to High School with her!

Rykat I guess ya know how to tell the male turtles from the female turtles ...do ya ?

Turtles don't have tails!

Awesome photo!

The male turtle is the one smiling?

If you look closely you can see the claw on the little male that hooks onto the female carapace (or shell). I watched these guys for about an hour and half. Talk about stamina;-)

as awkward as it must be probably takes an hour and 29 minutes to find it?

(pervert)?

Here is a good shot of the little hook!
The male turtles front mantel plate (the bottom of his shell)becomes flexible during mating season in order for him to concave over her convex shape (the top of her shell).
More than you wanted to know?

.
:-)

great pictures! would love to be there. Post some on you FB page.

the season has already started down this way!
the crew of the M.B. Hotel grabbed this shot of the rare Mahoganyback female laying her eggs,

Mohoganynia styrofoamus imbricata...very rare!

Wow, she must really give all the boys a woody!!

We saw 5 turtles yesterday, the courting goes on until late June when the females start to come ashore.

Juan Carlos , one of our divemasters took this one an hour ago. Big Guy hua?
Notice the correct behavior of the divers, folded hands ,no touchie!

Carlos took this shot of two nervous females yesterday.

How long will the mating season last? I can't dive until next week and sure don't want to miss this.

July is usually the end.
Greg Smith and his family need some
recognition for protecting the nesting.
http://turtlemanshouse.com/
They live way up in the Bacalar Chico area and help turtles nests from getting run over by people driving on the beach.
Its getting pretty hazardous laying eggs in traffic on the beach.
To bad we have a mayor and town board that allows driving motorized vehicles on the beach.
It wont take long to kill off the turtles of ambergris with that practice.

Elbert
Can we have a sign making project for the school kids and post them where ever the turtle man thinks might be a nest?

I have seen that in Florida they rope off the area where the turtles have laid their eggs. I think they determine the area by the birds that sit on the sand and wait for the eggs to hatch. Why can't that be done on AC? Shouldn't cost that much and Belize is selling itslef on being eco-friendly...

On Sipadan, a very small island off the coast of Borneo, the turtle man watches the eggs being laid and covered up. Then when the female is gone he digs them up and incubates them inside a builing. When the turtles hatch he takes them by the bucket full of sea water and turns them loose. I got to watch a hatch swim away. It was awesome.
There were so many healthy turtles free swimming there it got kinda boring and you had a hard time getting a wide angle picture without a turtle in it. They would also just bump you if you were in their path.
We could do this here.

Why?

Why not? Nothing like turtles in the water to increase the number of divers coming to your island. Turtles equal revenue, get it? I'd have thought with your mercenary bent, you'd be in favor of anything that ensured more turtles in the area.

I've been to Sipadan, the turtles are a huge draw, not the only draw, but definitely a wonderful factor. Regardless, eventually one does want to see all the other amazing wildlife without a turtle flapping in your face. :P

That said, not much sweeter than becoming bored of turtles.

But what about the balance of nature? Something the humans seem to have trouble with...

Jesse, the balance of nature has already been negatively affected by the golfcarts and other human activity destroying the nesting and fledglings. All that Harriette is suggesting is an attempt at a return to the "balance of nature".

Golfcarts kill turtles??????

oh fercryinoutloud . . .

Just in case I'm assuming to much Jesse I should explain,
Driving on the beach crushes turtle eggs laid under the sand on the beach, hundreds at a time. Without eggs hatching every year the turtle population that comes home to breed annually will diminish and tourist that come to see natural wonders like this won't be coming to the island and then none of us will be able to make a good living off tourist visitation.
So why the heck did the Mayor Elsa Paz and the town board rescind the no motorized vehicles on the beach law? convenience!
I think they don't really give a damn about the environment and consider only what moneys development can bring.
Does anyone think we'll have a very different Town Board after the election?
Is there anyway we could have the election sooner.
Jesse you make a good Straight Man...thanks

Yer Welcome!

Did they rescind the "driving on the beach" law? When?

This morning Juan Carlos came back from Hol Chan with this shot.
I like it because it shows a tourist snorkeler with the turtle.
Its a Green Turtle.

Lovely pic thanks for posting.

outstanding!

Thanks, Juan Carlos took the shot.
Notice these turtles are grazing on Turtle Grass that grows in the area between the reef and shoreline.
Its what they live on.
about 75% of their diet,sometimes they eat sponge and even eat meat but its mostly Turtle Grass.
Turtle grass also has a super important role in erosion and holding the island together.

great shot by Juan. really cool

I can't Belize its been a year tomorrow that we had incidents of large male turtles in heat trying to 'interact' with our divers.
http://www.cccturtle.org/seaturtleinformation.php?page=behavior
Today we had our first large male trying to mount one of the divers.
from last years mating season.

http://youtu.be/nPiUa2K64Tc

I would love to see the turtles hatching - I just read this whole thread - it's a shame they allow driving on beach ESPECIALLY when they know when turtle season is.

Golf carts do hurt turtles. Last year a female beached for the to make her nest, neighbor in vehicle saw this. Stopped, turned with lights and watched with the engine running. Golf carts drove within inches of the nest, repeatedly. We tried to block the area with sticks. The nest never hatched. We hope she returns this year.
The reason why nest are not marked, poachers. The Rangers use to make them, only to find them raided.
I saw a pair mating in front of Sueno del Mar just last week. Will have to figure out how to post.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/56553308@N08/5704156079/in/photostream/
How is that Chica Blanca

Thank you Elbert. It was great seeing such large animals up close. What a way to start a day.

Uhg, I HATE it that so many eggs are destroyed! We will be coming in August. When do the eggs hatch? If it's around the same time, does anyone do any sort of excursion where we could watch it happen? (without disturbing the process of course!) I love sea turtles, they're so beautiful!

I wish it was like that and we could watch., but the nests are rare and kept quiet.

Had to ask As long as they get there safely, that's the important part. Thanks, Elbert!