Yucatan Flamingoes and Mangroves

     The following day was the "ecotour",,,Celestun. There are no rivers in the Yucatan but there are "rias" a mixture of fresh and salt water inlets. There is a wide ria is in Celestun. like a wide inland waterway separated from the sea by a strip of land. The water level is very consistent. It is about three feet deep. all along the shoreline is a mangrove swamp, its lower bare branches looking like a herd of anteaters drinking water. Leggy treelets extend a few meters from the shoreline creating what to me seems a million different little cages. It is a haven for all types of waterfowl and of course crocodiles. Celestun is especially favorable to flamingos.We went out in a launch to explore the ria. The first stop was a flamingo haunt. There they were a group of 50 or so, a cliche of a bird,,,Gloria Swanson in a feathered boa. The skipper stopped the launch and we sat and watched these birds interact. They were various colors of pink depending on their age. Older is pinker. They squawked and defended their few meters of water, extending their elegant necks towards another that they wished to drive away. Occaisionally one would take off or land exposing the broad black bands of feathers beneath their wings. They ran across the water to become airborne and similarly when they landed,,,always gracefully.

     Flamingos have become a joke in the U.S. especially with the introduction of those iconic plastic lawn ornaments.Their odd figure, however, is a result of years of adaption to a very specific ambience. Like a platapus their precise adaption to an environment cuts a strange shape. It also makes for a beast susceptible to any drastic change. Compare a seagull with a flamingo. If the ocean temperature or level changed quickly the seagull (dogs that fly) would still be here with us. If this happened in Celestun the flamingos would be devastated. After watching them feed I realized they, like the cenotes, were examples of fragility of the Yucatan. Flamingoes eat the larva of shrimp that they rasp off the bottom with their legs. Their downward curved beak when placed on the bottom between their legs is angled just right to sit flatly and receive the larva. They have adapted a filter in the back of their throat to filter out the unwanted material

 

 

     Mangrove forests thrive in the intertidal areas and are vital for healthy coastal ecosystems -- their salt-tolerant trees and other plant species provide shelter for the little guy and nutrients for the marine environment. They support immense varieties of sea life in intricate food webs. Yet for too long, these vital wetlands have been undervalued, called mosquito-infested, muddy swamps, worthless and remote. They're being lost to the charcoal and timber industries, shrimp farms, tourism, golf courses, and ill-planned urban expansion.

     Mangrove forests are one of the most productive and biodiverse wetlands on earth. Yet, these unique coastal tropical forests are among the most threatened habitats in the world. They may be disappearing more quickly than inland tropical rainforests, and so far, with little public notice. However, in many areas of the world, mangrove deforestation is contributing to fisheries declines, degradation of clean water supplies, salinization of coastal soils, erosion, and land subsidence, as well as the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In fact, mangrove forests fix more carbon dioxide per unit area than phytoplankton in tropical oceans.

                                 

     Mangrove forests once covered 3/4 of the coastlines of tropical and sub-tropical countries. Today, less than 50% remain, and of this remaining forest, over 50% is degraded and not in good form.  Many factors contribute to mangrove forest loss, including the charcoal and timber industries, urban growth pressures, and mounting pollution problems. However, one of the most recent and significant causes of mangrove forest loss in the past couple of decades has been consumer demand for luxury shrimp , which grow to be the size of small lobsters in coastal ponds which have been created at the expense of the manglars. Put another on the barbie. 

     The level of the Rias don't vary much at all. Their constant nature became a point of adaption in the flamingo's evolution.  Any variation in the constancy of the ria would spell disaster for much of the wildlife there. The flamingoes are particularly sensitive. For example, when a hurricane attacks the Yucatan the ria level rises a bit and the flamingos cannot feed for days until the ecosystem returns to its former state. Watching the flamingos in their true habitat I became aware of the fragility of these strangely beautiful animals.

     The skipper then left the flamingos and we scooted towards the shore. He slowed the launch. We could see the creeping mangroves and cached inside their tight roots, as if in cages, were aquatic birds of every description. They were well protected from crocodiles in their natural "rooty" voluntary cages. Needle fish darted about like flexible neon tubes.He sped up again and after a short time he headed directly for the shore at a good clip. I couldn't imagine his intention when suddenly we entered a tunnel in the mangrove swamp. The launch slowed, the light changed from bright to jewelesque dappling the water and roots with silver dollar spots of light. We were inside the trees. It reminded me of Twenty-Five MIle Stream on the backside of Unity Pond in Maine. I often took my kayak down this path of water through a swamp. It was alive with life. One couldn't build there nor exploit it for its swampy nature so it persisted as a refuge.

     We exited the tunnel and a little further on we docked at the "Ojo de Agua" (spring). This is one of the places where the water beneath the limestone cap of the Yucatan meets the sea. When all the fresh water beneath the limestone cap in the Yucatan touches the sea springs emerge that bubble up along the shoreline and even out in the sea itself. They arrive at the sea from the vast system of underground tunnels and cenotes in the limestone There was a wooden path suspende on posts above the water that penetrated deeper into the swamp. The water here had a visible current and unlike the ria proper was crystal clear. A few steps in and there was a natural pool and a few people swimming. The wooden path continued a little further to the actual spring. It bubbled up from the sandy bottom with great force, forming a small umbrella of water on the surface. After a moment here I returned to the Ojo de Agua to swim. The water was a pleasing temperature and tasted slightly salty.

     After the swim I went swimming again, this time in Celustun proper. There was a restaurant on the beach like a high ceilinged hangar, open at both ends. The view of the cream sand, gentle waves and emerald green sea called like a siren. I put my things on a chair, left the rest of the group and headed for the beach with my wife. Another lady a little younger than me accompanied us. She was a government social worker now living in the Yucatan. She was traveling with her mother who lived in Mexico City. Mama stayed inside the restaurant to down several cool beers. Meanwhile we bounced about in the warm water for a bit. I dipped for shells. I held my wife upon my knees in an embrace and swirled in gentle circles. After a bit my wife sat on the shore where the sea met the sand resting on her hands. Of course she pulled up an old mexican coin out of the shallow spume.                            When we returned mama was feeling better and quite talkative. Her daughter though seemed to be aggravated by the prescence of her mother. "Oh mom this" and "well you know Mother that just isn't true". A discussion began about bullfights in Mexico City. Mom was a aficionado. She, mom was a little gassed up, que bueno, and began to talk passionately of the fights. Daughter, in her embarrassment was seen kicking her under the table. Mom was a far more interesting person however. She put her heart upon the table while daughter hid hers in confusion. When we were ready to leave I shook daughter's hand and kissed Mom's, and thanked her.