Not an emergency service. Person in danger? Call 911 in Mexico. Wildlife or a hazard that can't wait? Contact local authorities. When it can't wait

Playa Cerritos · Mazatlán, Sinaloa · México

A beach worth looking after.

Share the shoreline with sea turtles and wildlife: know what to do, what to leave alone, and how to write down what you saw.

What am I seeing? Prepare an observation

What are you seeing?

Jump in

Beach habit

  • Keep a generous distance. If an animal reacts to you, you are too close: move away slowly.
  • Watch quietly. Use your camera's zoom and never use flash.
  • Keep lights low or off near the water at night, including torches and phone screens.
  • Keep dogs and children back from wildlife and from nesting areas.
  • Note the time, the general place, what you saw and what the animal was doing.
  • Tell local authorities about urgent hazards first, then write it up here if it helps.

What this site is today

  • A guide. Free to read in English and Spanish, with no tracking.
  • A drafting tool. It writes notes in your browser. Nothing is sent until you send an email yourself.
  • Not a hotline. No dispatch, no live conditions and no public map of sightings.

Look closely. Write it down. Leave the rest to the tide.

General guidance only. Nothing here reports what is on the sand today.

Situation guide

What are you seeing?

Pick the closest match for general, safe next steps. This is guidance, not a hotline: it cannot send help.

All situations

Call 911

Person in danger

Call 911, Mexico's national emergency number, or ask someone nearby to help.

Call 911

Do now

  • Call 911 first.
  • Act first, write later: this website cannot send help.

Don't

  • Wait for a reply from this website or from an email before seeking help.

All situations

Watch from a distance

Turtle coming ashore

Usually normal behaviour, not an emergency.

Do now

  • Stay well back, and keep still and quiet.
  • Keep lights off: no torches, flash or phone screens.
  • Keep dogs and children back.
  • Let her finish and return to the sea.

Don't

  • Touch, crowd or chase her.
  • Dig in the sand, or move eggs, markers or fencing.

Who to tell

Nothing needs reporting right away. If someone is disturbing her or she is in immediate danger, contact local authorities.

Write it down When it can't wait

All situations

Watch from a distance

Hatchlings

Keep everyone and every dog back, and keep lights off.

Do now

  • Keep every person and every dog back.
  • Keep lights off, including torches and phone screens.
  • Watch quietly from a distance, and note what you see.

Don't

  • Pick them up or carry them to the water.
  • Use flash or bright lights: hatchlings head toward the brightest, lowest horizon.
  • Leave holes, sandcastles, chairs or vehicles where they can trap hatchlings.

Who to tell

If they are in immediate danger from crowds, vehicles or bright lights, contact local authorities.

Write it down When it can't wait

All situations

Watch from a distance

Tracks, eggs or nest

A wide, tractor-like track from the surf line up the beach can mean a turtle came ashore.

Do now

  • Keep back, and keep dogs and people away.
  • Leave roped-off or marked areas alone: others may be looking after them.
  • Note what you saw from a distance, and leave the exact spot out of your notes.

Don't

  • Follow tracks, dig, or place your own markers.
  • Move or pick up eggs, markers or fencing.
  • Post exact nest locations, GPS coordinates or map pins anywhere public.

Who to tell

If someone is disturbing eggs or a nest, or you see illegal activity involving wildlife, contact local authorities. PROFEPA's official page lists current ways to reach it.

PROFEPA — official page on gob.mx (opens in a new tab)

Write it down When it can't wait

All situations

Contact local authorities

Injured or stranded animal

This also covers a tangled animal. This page cannot send help: keep back and contact local authorities or beach staff first.

Do now

  • Keep back, and keep people and pets away.
  • Contact local authorities or beach staff.
  • Note what you see: what it is, roughly where, and what it is doing.

Don't

  • Push it into the water, or try to treat or move it yourself.
  • Touch, hold or feed it: handling a wild animal can hurt it and you.
  • Wait for a reply from this website or from an email before seeking help.

Who to tell

Local authorities or beach staff. PROFEPA's official page lists current ways to reach it.

PROFEPA — official page on gob.mx (opens in a new tab)

Write it down When it can't wait

All situations

Contact local authorities

Crocodile or dangerous animal

Stay far away, and never feed or provoke it.

Do now

  • Stay far away.
  • Warn others nearby.
  • Keep children and dogs back.

Don't

  • Feed or provoke it.
  • Approach it, or swim near it.

Who to tell

Tell local authorities if it is close to people. If a person is in danger, call 911.

Write it down When it can't wait

All situations

Keep away and note it

Trash or spill

Note the kind of material, roughly how much, and whether it looks hazardous.

Do now

  • Note the kind of material and roughly how much.
  • Note whether it looks hazardous.
  • For a spill, describe the colour, smell and extent.

Don't

  • Handle needles, syringes, chemical containers, gas cylinders, flares or medical waste.
  • Touch a spill, or enter the water.
  • Pick up anything unidentified, or touch a live animal tangled in debris.

Who to tell

If anyone could be at risk, call 911 or local authorities first.

Write it down Cleanup

Safety first

When it can't wait

Act first, write later. Urgent situations belong with local authorities, not with this website.

A person is in danger

Call 911, Mexico's national emergency number, or ask someone nearby to help.

Call 911

Wildlife in trouble, or wrongdoing

For an injured, stranded or entangled animal, disturbed eggs or nests, or illegal activity involving wildlife, contact local authorities. PROFEPA is Mexico's federal environmental enforcement agency; its official page lists current ways to reach it.

PROFEPA — official page on gob.mx (opens in a new tab)

Everything else

Use the draft tool to write clear notes. It makes a useful record, but it is not a way to get help.

Prepare an observation

This website cannot send anyone to help and does not list a rescue number. Don't wait for a reply from this site or from an email before seeking help.

Write it down

Prepare an observation

Answer a few questions and get a clear text draft, in English, Spanish or both. Copy it, download it, or open it in your email app addressed to luke@1730.ca.

Before you start. This page writes the draft on your device and uploads nothing. There is no public report database or map. Nothing is sent until you press send in your own email app, and a reply or action can't be promised. If something is urgent, see “When it can't wait”.

A reporting checklist
  1. What you saw. The animal, item or situation, in plain words. “Not sure” is fine.
  2. When. The date, and the time of day if you know it.
  3. Where, roughly. A landmark or beach access in words. No GPS coordinates or map pins.
  4. How many, how big. A rough count or size.
  5. Condition. Moving, resting, injured, tangled, dead, or unsure.
  6. Surroundings. Whether people, dogs, vehicles or bright lights were nearby.
  7. Photos or video. Only from a safe distance. Keep the originals, and remove location data from turtle photos before sharing.
  8. What you did. Be honest about anything you touched or moved.

Observation details

1 · What are you reporting?
2 · When and where

A landmark, beach access or stretch of sand, in words. Please don't use GPS coordinates or map links.

3 · What happened

Plain facts: what, how many, what it was doing, what changed.

Your best description is fine. “Not sure” is a good answer.

This page can't attach files. If you email, add them yourself, and remove location data from turtle photos first.

4 · About you and the draft

Leave it blank to stay anonymous in the draft. Please don't add your address or phone number.

Leave out: exact nest locations, your home address, and other people's phone numbers.

This page doesn't save or upload what you type.

Share the shoreline

Wildlife safety, in plain rules

Close encounters feel special, but wild animals are easily stressed and some can be dangerous. These rules apply to turtles, marine mammals, birds, crocodiles and anything else you meet.

Do

  • Keep a generous distance. If an animal reacts to you, you are too close: move away slowly.
  • Watch quietly. Use your camera's zoom and never use flash.
  • Keep lights low or off near the water at night, including torches and phone screens.
  • Keep dogs and children back from wildlife and from nesting areas.
  • Note the time, the general place, what you saw and what the animal was doing.
  • Tell local authorities about urgent hazards first, then write it up here if it helps.

Don't

  • Touch, hold, ride, feed, chase or crowd an animal, or pick up eggs or hatchlings.
  • Dig in the sand to look for nests, or move eggs, markers or fencing.
  • Post exact nest locations, GPS coordinates or map pins anywhere public.
  • Try to treat, move or push back a stranded animal yourself. Wait for local authorities or others trained to help.
  • Drive on the sand, light fires, or leave holes, beach gear and trash out overnight.
  • Approach crocodiles or swim near them, and never feed them.

Not sure what you're seeing? Open the situation guide

Know the shoreline

Turtles, tides and the edge between

Cerritos is a shared beach: residents, visitors, fishers and wildlife all use it. A few general facts help everyone act well. They are background, not a report of what is on the sand today.

Sea turtles on Mexico's Pacific coast

Sea turtles use Mexico's Pacific coast, including beaches around Mazatlán. Olive ridley turtles (tortuga golfina) have been studied nesting on Cerritos and nearby beaches. Leave animals, tracks and nests undisturbed; nesting dates vary.

They are protected

In Mexico, sea turtles, their eggs and their nests are protected by law. Collecting, disturbing or harming them can be an offence. Watching quietly from a distance is always the right choice.

Light, sand and silence

Hatchlings find the sea by heading toward the brightest, lowest horizon, so lights, flashes and torches can send them the wrong way. Holes, sandcastles, chairs and vehicles can trap them. At night, keep lights off, keep your distance and keep dogs away.

Signs you might notice

A wide, tractor-like track from the surf line up the beach can mean a turtle came ashore. Marked or roped-off areas may be looked after by others. Don't follow tracks, dig, or place your own markers. Note what you saw from a distance and leave the exact spot out of your notes.

No current nest counts, sightings or beach conditions are published on this site.

Leave it better

Cleanup, done kindly

A tidy beach helps wildlife when cleanups are done carefully. Go in daylight, pick up only litter, and leave the natural beach as you found it.

Before

Get ready

  • Check the heat, tide and surf, and go with someone else.
  • Bring gloves, bags, water, sun protection and closed shoes.
  • Keep to open sand. Skip roped-off, marked or dune areas.
  • Keep the group a manageable size and bring no machines or vehicles onto the sand.

During

Pick up with care

  • Collect plastics, cans, bottles, rope and fishing line you can reach safely.
  • Leave seaweed, shells and driftwood. They shelter wildlife and hold the sand together.
  • Stay out of dune plants and don't dig.
  • If you find eggs, tracks, markers or a live animal, stop, step back and leave the spot alone.

After

Close the loop

  • Carry every bag out with you and sort recyclables where local services allow.
  • Wash your hands and check for cuts.
  • Write a short “Cleanup or good news” note in the Draft tab: what you collected, roughly how much, and how many helped.
  • Cut waste at the source: bring a reusable bottle and bag, and take your wrappers home.

Write a cleanup note

Leave these alone: needles and syringes, chemical containers, gas cylinders, flares, anything unidentified, dead animals, and any live animal tangled in debris. Keep others away, note what you see, and tell local authorities.

Find the beach

Playa Cerritos on a map

These are ordinary external map searches for Playa Cerritos in Mazatlán, opened in a new tab. This site does not plot sightings, nests, hazards or live conditions, and it will not publish exact nest locations.

Search on OpenStreetMap (opens in a new tab) Search on Google Maps (opens in a new tab)

Opening a map link shares your visit with that provider, under its own privacy policy.

Mission

A community beach, looked after together

Cerritos Turtles began with a focus on sea turtles and has grown into a wider idea of beach health: clean sand, safe water, undisturbed wildlife, and neighbours who know what to do.

It is for residents, long-term visitors, newcomers and travellers alike. You don't need to be an expert. Looking carefully, keeping your distance and writing down what you saw is already a real contribution.

  1. Observe, don't interfere

    The best wildlife encounter leaves the animal unaware you were there.

  2. Protect what's sensitive

    Nest locations and personal details stay private.

  3. Say only what we know

    No invented numbers, live conditions or rescue promises.

  4. Two languages, one beach

    English and Spanish, treated equally.

Where things stand

This relaunch is a guide and a drafting tool. There is no public database of sightings, no accounts, no photo uploads, no map of reports, no hotline, and no shop or donations. If that changes, this page will say so.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Is this an emergency line?

No. This website cannot dispatch anyone and does not list a rescue number. If a person is in danger, call 911. For urgent wildlife or environmental problems, contact local authorities.

Where does my draft go?

Nowhere, unless you send it. The draft is built in your browser. You can copy it, download it, or open it in your email app addressed to luke@1730.ca, and then it is up to you whether to press send.

Why shouldn't I share exact nest locations?

Precise locations can attract egg poachers, predators and crowds, all of which put nests at risk. Describe the area in general terms and don't post coordinates or map pins. This composer also asks you to leave GPS coordinates and map links out.

I found a turtle, hatchlings or eggs. What should I do?

Stay back, keep lights off, keep dogs and people away, and don't touch anything. A turtle nesting at night is normal. If animals are in immediate danger or someone is disturbing them, contact local authorities. Afterwards you can write notes with the composer, leaving the exact spot out.

Can I upload photos or video?

Not on this site. If you choose to email, you can attach files yourself. Remove location data from photos of turtles first, and only photograph from a safe distance.

Can I help an injured or stranded animal myself?

Please don't. Handling a wild animal can hurt it and you. Keep back, keep people and pets away, and contact local authorities or beach staff.

Is any of this live? Are there current sightings or nest counts?

No. Nothing on this site reflects live conditions, current sightings or nest counts. It is general guidance and a drafting tool.

Does this site track me?

This site runs no analytics, ads or third-party scripts, and doesn't set cookies itself. It remembers only your language choice, in your own browser.

Can I donate or volunteer?

There is no donation or shop on this site and no volunteer sign-up at the moment. If you would like to offer help or ideas, you can email luke@1730.ca, though a reply can't be promised.

Is this a government website?

No. This is a community site, not a government service, and it doesn't speak for any agency.

Get in touch

Contact the site operator

Email is the only contact route right now. It suits questions, corrections, local knowledge and offers of help.

Not for emergencies. This inbox isn't monitored as an emergency channel, and replies can't be guaranteed or may be slow.

Official resource

PROFEPA — official page on gob.mx (opens in a new tab)

PROFEPA is Mexico's federal environmental enforcement agency. Check its official page for current ways to make a complaint. This site is not affiliated with it.

Sources and references