Five species of sea turtles can be seen on Guatemala’s Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, where they also come ashore to lay their eggs. These are olive ridley, hawksbill, leatherback, green, and loggerhead. Of these, olive ridley, leatherback, and hawksbill turtles nest on the Pacific shores and can be seen at the Biotopo Monterrico-Hawaii. Between September and January, visitors to this park have the rare opportunity to hold baby sea turtles in their hands before releasing them to begin their mad dash across the sand and a lifetime at sea. If they survive to adulthood, the females will return to very same beach to lay their eggs and begin a new life cycle. All of these turtle species are endangered because of the harvesting of their eggs by poor coastal dwellers in search of food and a means to supplement their incomes.

Guatemala’s Pacific sailfish have become the object of widespread praise in the angling circuit with blue marlin, Pacific sailfish, and yellowfin tuna just waiting to be caught. Humpback whales can also be seen breaching in the Pacific waters. As for the Caribbean Coast, Guatemala just missed out on the Belize Barrier Reef, as it ends right at the doorstep of the Punta de Manabique peninsula. The barrier reef is easily accessible, however, along with the wonders of its corals and exotic fish from Punta de Manabique Wildlife Refuge. Although lacking the barrier reef per se, the waters off Guatemala’s Atlantic Coast are certainly not devoid of exotic sea life. Bottle-nosed dolphins readily follow motorboats as they make their way along the Caribbean coast. The endangered manatee (Trichechus manatus), or sea cow, has become increasingly rare as the large, slow, sea grass–eating mammal has fallen prey to hunting, motorboats, and drowning in fishing nets. A small reserve in Izabal’s El Golfete is attempting to protect the few that remain in Guatemalan waters.