ISLA MUJERES, MEXICO – Every year from May through August, scores of seas turtles return to the waters off of the southern point of Isla Mujeres, a small island off the northeastern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, to mate…and the mating season has begun for 2012. My wife and I were fortunate enough to be diving off of Punta Sur and witnessed this stage of the life cycle that will culminate with only one out of 1000 sea turtles that hatch will survive to adulthood.

The male will mount the larger female holding on with his front flippers and wrapping is longer tail under the female to literally hold on while the female swims to the surface to breath.

As we witnessed on our dives, often more than one male will try to mate with the female and sometimes multiple males will be “stacked” on top of the female in attempting to mate. Females will often mate with more than one male prior to laying her eggs on the beach in which she was born.

The Silent Evolution, a project comprising of an installation of 400 life-sized human sculptures on the sea bed off the coast of Cancun, Mexico, is now reaping handsome results – almost all the statues are now adorned with the artificial coral reef.

Created by British artist Jason de Caires Taylor, the sculpture park is located underwater between Cancun and the Isla Mujeres National Marine Park and was designed to reduce the impact that the yearly visit of nearly three-quarters of a million tourists has. Marine scientists have long expressed their concern of the dangers of tourist activity on the natural formation.

Taylor’s artificial reef, therefore, was planned to draw tourists away from the natural corals… a step that could protect marine life and amuse tourists at the same time. The artist completed the full installation by the end of 2010 and just about a year later, the sculptures are a delightful hub for artificially grown corals as well as home for a variety of aquatic creatures.

The sculptures are made of a special type of cement which has a neutral pH that encourages coral to grow and to satisfy his aesthetic side Taylor’s sculptures explore the relationships between art, science and the environment.

Another advantage of the Silent Evolution sculptures is that this “human reef” promotes tourism in an otherwise barren sea and attracts adventurers towards something unusually artistic under water. These reefs on human faces may look scary at times but that has not kept tourists at bay. The reefs are accessible from both Cancun and the Isla Mujeres National Marine Park.

Check out the slideshow to view photographs of these underwater sculptures… both from when they were first immersed to the latest images, showing these coral-clad statues standing tall to protect the natural coral reefs…

You can watch here a movie of this incredible scenery.

If you have ever wanted to see giant turtles, Isla Mujeres offers the venue. The island is the ancestral hatching ground for the giant sea turtles who lay their eggs in the soft sand each year between the months of May and ending in September. Turtles no longer are killed for their meat as was done in the past. Today, the island offers a federally protected location for the turtles to grow their ranks. The eggs are placed in well protected open pens to keep them safe from predators. Each newly hatched turtle is placed in tanks until the are released into the wild by the local school children and volunteers.

Each season , hundreds of sea turtles survive thanks to the care and love of the islanders. It’s a unique experience and an example for the rest of the world. The residents as well as visitors pride themselves in helping nature take it’s course.
The turtle farm is located on the south part of the island and is managed by the Mexican federal government as well as private funding. The farm is open daily from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.