The Season Begins!

On Thursday afternoon, a group of kayakers reported to SC Department of Natural Resources that they found a sea turtle on the lower end of Waties Island. Steve, Valerie and Barb responded. What we found was the biggest loggerhead turtle any of us had ever seen - it was over 40 inches in length and 37 inches across!

Unfortunately, it had been dead for some time. What made this turtle a bit unusual, other than the size, was that it had a long tail - indicating that it was a male. See the photo below; that's not a flipper on the left side.

Loggerheads are known for their large skulls and this animal was no exception.

We had help from the man who reported the stranding and were very glad to have him there. This was a heavy animal.

If your patrols take you on the lower end of the island, you will probably see the skeleton high up on the beach near Marker 1. It has red paint on the body indicating that it has already been reported and documented in the seaturtle.org stranding records.

Now for some live turtles! Let the nesting season begin.

Barb D