We are well into turtle nesting season in Cancún, Isla Mujeres, the Riviera Maya, Cozumel and all along the Mexican Caribbean coast. Here at Royal Resorts, we are delighted to report that as of July 2, the tally of protected nests stands at 227, with 26,951 eggs.
There are 129 nests in The Royal Caribbean corral, all tagged as green turtle nests with the exception of two loggerheads and a lone hawksbill nest. At The Royal Sands, there are 98 nests, all green turtles with the exception of a hawksbill nest registered on July 1. One nest contains a clutch of 171 eggs.
June 29 was a particularly active night with 18 turtles coming ashore to lay their eggs: nine at The Royal Sands and nine in front of The Royal Mayan, The Royal Caribbean and The Royal Islander. At this point in time in 2012, there were 33 nests in the corral at The Royal Sands and 48 at The Royal Caribbean.
If you are due to travel to Royal Resorts or anywhere else in the Mexican Caribbean please follow the Turtle Rules and help us protect this ancient creature.
If you see a turtle nesting on the beach or coming ashore
* Alert resort security staff
* Be very quiet and keep still
* Watch from a distance (five meters) and do not attempt to touch the turtle or crowd her
* Do not shine a torch in her direction or use your flash when taking pictures
* If you bring your children to help release the hatchlings, make sure that they follow instructions and please, no flash photography
* No smoking
* If the turtle is frightened by loud noises, people and bright lights, she will leave the beach without nesting and lay her eggs in the water, thus losing the entire clutch (90 to 110 eggs)
* The corrals where turtle nests are protected are restricted areas and access is strictly prohibited
Under Mexican law it is illegal to persecute and hunt sea turtles or steal their eggs
We hope that our turtle summer will be even more remarkable than last year’s record-breaking season when 647 nests were protected at Royal Resorts and 65,703 baby turtles were released.
Royal Resorts has been participating in the worldwide campaign to save the sea turtle since 1985. Official record keeping began at the resorts in 1998 and in 15 years staff have watched over 5,671 nests (including 2013 nests up to July 2) and released 433,080 turtles. We are all eagerly waiting for the first babies of the 2013 season to emerge from the eggs and scuttle across the sand to begin life at sea.
Royal Resorts members and guests can help protect the turtles and support the Royal Resorts Foundation conservation cause by purchasing a commemorative Turtle Team t-shirt from the Gift Shop.
We will be publishing additional updates during the summer on this blog and also on the Royal Resorts Facebook page.
