You may be wondering how the sea turtles are doing at Royal Resorts this year? We are happy to report that 23,240 baby sea turtles have already hatched and been released at The Royal Sands and The Royal Caribbean in Cancun, Mexico during the 2015 nesting season. Many thousands more will follow in the weeks to come.
There are 483 turtle nests in the nurseries at The Royal Sands and The Royal Caribbean and the season tally of eggs stands at 56,547. We are hoping that the number will rise even further. Seven nesting turtles laid eggs during the night of August 29 at The Royal Sands and another four at The Royal Caribbean on September 1.
The majority of the nests have been those of green turtles with a few loggerhead and hawksbill turtles. Loggerhead turtles are more common further south in the Riviera Maya and the north coast of the Yucatan is the most importing nesting site in the world for the hawksbill turtle, the smallest of the turtles found in the Mexican Caribbean.
Watching baby turtles scuttling towards the waves is something that visitors traveling to Cancun and the Riviera Maya in the summer and fall may be lucky enough to see during their vacation. If you are due to visit Royal Resorts in the next few weeks and would like to witness a turtle release, ask at the Front Desk for information.
When eggs hatch during the day, the baby turtles rest after their marathon struggle to emerge from the shell, gradually reviving as the hours pass. The Royal Resorts Security guards wait until dusk falls and the gulls and frigate birds that might prey on the hatchlings have gone to roost before carefully transporting them from the nursery to the beach. At 8 p.m., members and guests watch these dedicated turtle guardians release their precious charges and wish them Godspeed as they race across the sand towards the waves to begin a new life at sea.
