May marks the beginning of the sea turtle nesting season in the Mexican Caribbean. For the next few months, female green, loggerhead, hawksbill and the occasional giant leatherback turtle will be coming ashore at night to lay their eggs, returning to the very same beaches that they themselves were born on many years ago.
Forty-five to 60 days later, the eggs will begin to hatch and their offspring struggle out of the shells and embark on their own journey towards the waves and a new life at sea.
Watching over our special summer visitors is something we are proud to do at Royal Resorts; we have been participating in the annual sea turtle conservation program since 1985. And even though our resorts may be closed right now, our security guards will still be patrolling the shoreline in search of nesting female turtles. They will protect them as they dig a hole in the sand and lay their eggs, keeping a tally of the species, number of eggs, date and time.
In 2019, there were 927 turtle nests in the corrals at The Royal Sands and The Royal Islander and security guards released 96,400 baby turtles in the late summer and fall. We hope that there will be many more this summer.
