Facts about turtle nesting season in Mexico

As their name suggests, sea turtles actually spend most of their time at sea. However, they return to the beach every year to lay their eggs.

The average turtle nest can be the home to as many as 200 eggs, buried in the sand to protect them from a range of predators including seagulls, foxes and even skunks. These are placid, vulnerable creatures and were also once widely hunted by humans to provide food. Thankfully we’re now more likely to nurture and appreciate them with a series of turtle sanctuaries appearing all along the coast of Mexico.

Sea turtles are one of the oldest species in existence today with a heritage going back 130 million years. Mexico has six main species of turtle.

• Loggerhead: you’ll find this one along the Yucatan Peninsula

• Green Turtle: also known in the Pacific (perhaps confusingly) as the black turtle, this is another species indigenous to Yucatan.

• Hawksbill: stay in the Yucatan and look for this species amongst the coral reefs.

• Olive Ridley: go to Escobilla for ‘arribada’, a mass nesting event where an army of little Olive Ridleys make their dash for the beach all at once.

• Leatherback: these huge beasts are a wonder to behold and can be found in Oaxaca and Michoacan.

• Kemp's Ridley: head North for these critters as the main nesting beach for this species is at Rancho Nuevo, on the border with Texas.