We have some great news to share with you about the 2017 turtle nesting season at Royal Resorts. The first sea turtle of the summer laid its eggs on the beach at The Royal Sands in Cancun on May 22.
The loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) or caguama came ashore at 9:25 at night and laid 91 eggs. Security guards took her measurements, 105 centimeters long and 95 centimeters across the widest part of the shell before she returned to the sea. The precious clutch of eggs was carefully carried to the turtle nursery and deposited in nest number 1 of the 2017 sea turtle nesting season.
A second, smaller loggerhead turtle came ashore to nest at The Royal Sands in the early hours of the morning on May 28 and laid 199 eggs. And on June 7, guards at The Royal Haciendas in the Riviera Maya found another loggerhead digging its nest. Biologists transported the 136 eggs to the turtle nursery at a neighboring resort further north along the beach.
Follow the 2017 turtle nesting season rules
If you are vacationing at Royal Resorts or Grand Residences this summer, please join us in protecting our turtle visitors.
• Alert the security staff when you see a turtle on the beach at night
• Be very quiet and keep still, noise, lights and the movement of people disturb nesting sea turtles and cause them to leave the beach without laying eggs
• Watch from a distance of ten (33 feet) meters
• Do not attempt to touch the turtle or crowd her
• Do not shine a torch or use the light on your mobile phone
• Please, no flash photography
• No smoking
• Follow the instructions given by security staff at all times
• Help us to keep our beaches and sea clean. Discarded straws, plastic bags, beer packaging, fishing lines and other garbage floating in the water are lethal to turtles and other marine life
• When snorkeling or diving watch turtles from a distance, do not swim towards them and do not attempt to touch them
• Wear a t-shirt when snorkeling as protection from the sun instead of applying sun block. Sun products pollute the water and are harmful to marine life
• Turtles are protected by Mexican law and it is illegal to disturb them, persecute or hunt them and consume their meat or eggs.
The Federal environmental agency rules for the 2017 turtle nesting season keep human contact with the fragile baby turtles to a minimum. They stipulate that hatchlings can only be released by trained security personnel and not by hotel guests. Failure to comply with these measures can lead to resorts losing the right to have turtle nurseries on site or to be part of the turtle protection campaign.
Stay posted for more turtle updates from Royal Resorts and the Mexican Caribbean during the 2017 turtle nesting season.
