Officials in Mexico took proactive measures to protect sea turtle eggs by relocating over 10,000 eggs from the Yucatan Peninsula beaches ahead of Hurricane Beryl, which caused extensive damage in the region but resulted in no reported fatalities in Mexico.
Mexican officials rescued over 10,000 sea turtle eggs from the beaches of the Yucatan Peninsula ahead of Hurricane Beryl, which made landfall near Tulum as a Category 2 hurricane on Friday, July 5, 2024. Utilizing sand-filled coolers, officials relocated the eggs to protect them from storm surges and rising sea levels, conditions that pose significant threats to sea turtle eggs as they can be swept out to sea and fail to hatch.
Graciela Tiburcio, a biologist and sea turtle expert, noted that while moving the eggs would result in some not surviving, the loss would have been greater had they been left in their original nests. The eggs came from nearly 100 nests, and their precise post-relocation status remains unclear.
Hurricane Beryl caused substantial damage in the region, leaving over half of Tulum without power and causing extensive environmental disruption, including downed trees and power lines. However, no fatalities were reported in Mexico. The death toll from Beryl in the eastern Caribbean has reached eleven, with casualties reported in Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Venezuela, and Jamaica.
Five of the world’s seven sea turtle species, all of which are threatened or endangered, nest on Mexico’s gulf coast, including the heavily protected Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, known for being the smallest sea turtle species.
