In the early days of August, we welcome the arrival of the first baby turtles. Our turtle guardians watch over the nests round the clock alert to the telltale signs of movement, sand shifting, and then a tiny flipper emerging followed by the head as the first intrepid baby turtle struggles free of its shell. We are happy to report the first hatchlings of the season, 448 green turtles at Royal Uno and 356 at The Royal Islander, all of which were released at night to scuttle across the beach towards the waves. We look forward to many more in 2022.

To date, there are 332 turtle nests in the corrals at The Royal Sands, The Royal Islander and Royal Uno and the tally of eggs stands at 38,297 eggs. We hope that many more female turtles come ashore in the weeks to come to nest.

The Cancun Municipal Turtle Protection Program reported that there are 3,174 nests* and 365,979 eggs in 44 corrals at resorts along the shoreline between Punta Cancun and Punta Nizuc (July figures). This includes six leatherback turtle nests; leatherbacks are the world’s largest turtle and a rare visitor to the Mexican Caribbean.

Elsewhere in the Mexican Caribbean, the turtle nesting season is in full swing. The Centro Ecológico Akumal (CEA) reported 484 nests on Akumal beaches, 182 of which were loggerhead nests and 302 green turtle nests.

Flora, Fauna y Cultura de Mexico, A.C. biologists and volunteers patrol turtle nesting sites in Cozumel, the Playa del Carmen area and the district of Tulum, including Riviera Maya beaches such as Paamul, Aventuras DIF, Chemuyil, Santuario de la Tortuga Marina Xcacel-Xcacelito, Xel-Ha, Tulum and San Juan in Sian Ka’an. In its May-June 2022 report, it had already registered 750 green turtle nests and 1,114 loggerhead turtle nests at 14 nesting beaches. Over the last 39 years, this NGO has released 15 million baby turtles in the Mexican Caribbean.

Stay posted for more turtle news from Royal Resorts.

Source: *Cancun nesting statistics Sipse/Novedades