It’s been a busy couple of weeks for the sea turtles and the nesting season seems to be heating up. Sixty-two nests with 7,144 eggs are now being protected in the corrals at The Royal Sands and The Royal Caribbean in Cancún and two at Grand Residences Riviera Cancun in Puerto Morelos.
The night of July 16, nine green turtles emerged from the waves to lay their eggs on the beach in front of The Royal Sands, the busiest night so far this year for the Royal Resorts security guards who watch over them and their precious offspring.
In Cancún as a whole, the turtle egg tally currently stands at 66,616 according to the City Hall Sea Turtle Program Coordinator. The majority are green turtle eggs (56,626 eggs), followed by loggerhead (6,931) and hawksbill (2,784). There have also been three sightings of the extremely rare leatherback, the largest turtle in the world (665 eggs). This is very good news because prior to 2014 only three leatherback turtles had come ashore in the last 10 years.
The most recent report from Isla Mujeres is of 150 nests and 16,015 eggs.
We will keep you posted during the summer with more turtle news.
Cancún turtle figures via Novedades, July 16 & 17, 2014
