Although Traditionally May 15th is the official start of the turtle nesting season according to the Comité de Protección a la Tortuga Marina, the Municipal Department of public security has already been restricting the passage of vehicles to the eastern part of the island after 6:00 PM. Seventeen nests have already been found.
Cozumel is fortunate to be a protected breeding area to two species of turtles, the loggerhead (careta careta) and the green turtle (chelonian mydas). During the months of May through September these turtles come ashore to lay their eggs on Cozumel’s eastern beaches. Sea turtles generally lay between 150-200 eggs each time and can nest up to 6 times in a breeding season. The eggs take around 60 days to incubate before the baby turtles head toward the sea.
If you’re arriving from the US and have a little extra room in your suitcase, the biologists are looking for headlamps, the flashlights worn on your head, to keep your hands free, as well as rolls of fluorescent marking tape. To find out more about the program, or to get involved, please visit the Municipal Department of Ecology, located at the Cenote Park on Av. 65.
This story originally appeared in the weekly Cozumel 4 You NEWS – the island’s number one source of positive information about our island! Be sure and subscribe to the weekly NEWS to find out all the island events!…
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