Our oceangoing summer visitors, the female sea turtles that emerge from the waves at night to lay their eggs in the sand, are still coming ashore to nest. To date, the security team has moved 210 nests to the corral at The Royal Sands. They are watching over 23,524 eggs, of which 6,611 have now hatched and the baby turtles have been released to begin life at sea.
At the beginning of August there were 2,770 turtle nests along the Cancun shoreline from Punta Cancun to Punta Nizuc, with an estimated 456,000 eggs, a number that will have increased considerably by now. Thousands of these eggs are protected in 48 corrals in hotels and resorts such as The Royal Sands that participate in the annual turtle conservation program.
Elsewhere in the Mexican Caribbean, Isla Mujeres is reporting 565 nests with 65,225 eggs and 8,142 hatchlings released to date.
In the Riviera Maya, the Centro Ecológico de Akumal (CEA) reports 591 nests along the four nesting beaches in Akumal (Half Moon Bay, Akumal Bay, Playa Tortuga and Akumal Sur). Loggerhead turtles account for 211 of the nests and the remaining 380 are green turtle nests.
Flora, Fauna y Cultura de Mexico A.C., the NGO that handles the turtle conservation program on beaches in the Tulum area and the Xcacel-Xcacelito turtle sanctuary, among others, reported 3,880 nests in late July, 1,317 were loggerhead and 3,160 were green turtle nests.
Amazing turtle encounters with Thomas More Travel
If you would like to learn more about sea turtles and watch them peacefully grazing on the sea grass or swimming along the area’s coral reefs, Thomas More Travel offers an unforgettable snorkeling trip to Akumal, “the place of the turtles” in Maya. Your bilingual guide will tell you all about turtles and how to swim alongside them, always keeping your distance and never touching them. You’ll fall in love with these beautiful creatures, one of the planet’s most ancient reptiles, held sacred by the Maya.
This Akumal trip also includes a visit to a jungle cenote for a swim and to learn more about these mysterious sinkholes, which were the gateway to the Maya underworld, the home of the gods. Contact the tour desk at your resort during your stay for details and reservations.
