After a year of intensive care in the Turtle Rehabilitation Center at Xcaret, 12 green and hawksbill turtles were released to begin life at sea.
The three hawksbill turtles were juveniles, around eight or nine months old when they were rescued in a state of extreme malnutrition. The nine green turtles were newborns that were too weak to be released and were nursed by Xcaret vets until they were stronger and larger.
The most important center of its kind in Mexico, the Xcaret Turtle Rehabilitation Center attends turtles brought in with injuries caused by boat collisions, entrapment in fishing nets, plastic garbage and swallowing fishing hooks. Others have been attacked by poachers, dogs or jaguars or are suffering from anorexia, starvation or diseases. The survival rate of turtles rescued in such circumstances is up to 67 percent at the Center.
Together with its charitable foundation Flora, Fauna y Cultura de Mexico, Xcaret has been involved in turtle conservation for more than 30 years. Flora, Fauna y Cultura manages several turtle camps in the Riviera Maya and on its watch it is estimated that more than 10 million baby turtles have been helped on their way to a new life at sea.
