Royal Resorts had a record tally of 581 sea turtle nests and 61,499 hatchlings for 2011 and we would like to thank our security staff for all their hard work and dedication. Throughout the summer they spend every night patrolling the beaches and they do not rest until the last hatchling of the season has made that mad dash across the sand at dusk and disappeared into the waves.
A special mention also goes out to the members and guests who helped us release the baby turtles to begin life at sea this summer and for those of you who followed our updates on our blog www.royalresortsnews.com and on Facebook.
The support of Royal Resorts and other hotels, conservation groups and volunteers is vital for sea turtle protection in the Mexican Caribbean. The area is visited by four species of turtles and is one of the world’s most important nesting areas for green turtles. The north coast of the Yucatan is equally important for the hawksbill turtle. Threatened with extinction in many parts of the world, Mexican law protects turtles – it is a criminal offense to hunt them and consume eggs, meat or use their shell –and the hopes are that the populations of these ancient reptiles will recover.
Royal Resorts began watching over our turtle visitors in 1985 when The Royal Mayan opened. Formal record keeping began in 1998 and since then Royal Resorts has protected 4,797 nests and released 367,377 turtles. Local biologists estimate that The Royal Sands, The Royal Mayan, The Royal Caribbean and The Royal Islander account for 20 percent of the hatchlings set free in Cancun.
