Thanks to a committed staff at the Coastal Discovery Museum as well as conservationists and caring volunteers, the Hilton Head Island Sea Turtle Protection Project is gearing up for another nesting and hatching season which runs from May 1 through October 31.
• The Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) is the state reptile of our state. Weighing in between 300 – 400 pounds as adults, they have brownish or yellow skin and top shells which can measure from 30 – 42 inches in length.
• Temperature and moisture of the sand determines optimal habitat and Hilton Head’s sandy shores make for great nesting.
• Females nest on all areas of the beach starting the first or second week in May with most nests laid along the open-facing beach.
• Females lay four to six nests in a season.
• The average season yields 150 nests with females laying an average of 120 eggs per nest.
• Nesting season ends the last part of August.
• Gender of the embryos is determined by the temperature in the nest with warmer temps producing females and cooler temps producing males.
In late August and early September, after incubating for 50 – 60 days, the young begin to hatch. Instinct tells them to dash as fast as they can toward the brightest point on the horizon, which with no artificial light, is the ocean since water reflects the light of the moon better than land. They navigate to the ocean by following the downward slope of the beach. During the next 60 days hatchlings are racing to the ocean. The lucky ones who make it to the water have quite a journey ahead. These hatchlings will swim 60 miles to reach the Gulf Stream where they will travel north, then east, and across the North Atlantic Ocean into European waters. After navigating around the Canary Islands, they head into the waters of Africa. They will swim until they cross the Atlantic Ocean once again, cross the equator, flow into the waters along the northern coast of South American, up north through the Caribbean and back to the East Coast of the United States. Females will return to the same region of their birth; males will never touch dry land again.
Help the Loggerheads on Hilton Head. By doing these simple things, you can help ensure their survival:
• If your home or building is visible from the beach, turn off outside lights at 10 p.m. from May 1 through October 31.
• Never leave beach accessories (umbrellas, chairs, floats, etc.) on the beach overnight. Nesting females can get tangled in them while hatchlings become disoriented by such objects.
• Return beach sand to its undisturbed state before leaving the beach. That is, if you dig, cover the hole. Open holes mean death to a baby hatchlings who stumble into them.
• NEVER disturb a sea turtle nest. It is illegal to do so!
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