The Charleston, South Carolina area is a great place to live or have a vacation home. The weather is great, the beaches are fantastic, golf courses are abundant, there are many historical sites, the architecture is unbelievable, the dining is unbeatable, and the people are the friendliest in the country. It is because of these reasons that I believe Charleston SC Real Estate is truly unique. I look forward to helping you with any of your Charleston SC Real Estate needs in Charleston, Berkeley, or Dorchester counties. Today’s article is titled:
The Tale of a Turtle: How the Kiawah Island Turtle Patrol Helps
The Loggerhead Sea Turtle, whose scientific name is Caretta caretta is one of the most common sea turtles and is the only sea turtle that nests in the United States. They are large swimming reptile that may reach 45” in diameter and weigh over 300 pounds.
Loggerhead Sea Turtle Information
The Loggerhead Sea Turtle is an endangered species and has been designated as South Carolina’s state reptile. Most nesting occurs north of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea in temperate waters, although some individuals nest in the western Caribbean. Loggerhead sea turtles also nest along the southeastern U. S. coast, with 90 percent of nests occurring in Florida. Females come out of the water to lay their eggs on beaches at night. An individual may nest up to 7 times in a single season, laying 100-125 eggs every 14+ days. The eggs hatch in 55-65 days; the hatchlings emerge at night to spend their first year among mats of sargassum weed and other flotsam. Sexual maturity is reached in 10-15 years, and the estimated maximum lifespan is 30 years.
Loggerhead sea turtles are found globally, preferring temperate and subtropical waters. In the western Atlantic, they range from the Canadian Maritime Provinces south to Argentina. Within its range, this species inhabits warm waters on continental shelves and areas among islands. Estuaries, coastal streams and salt marshes are preferred habitats.
Loggerhead sea turtles and eggs are hunted extensively in many parts of the world. In the U. S., however, the main threat is from raccoons and wild boar which eat the eggs. On some nesting beaches, raccoons may destroy more than 95 percent of the nests. Encroaching human populations are also a threat.
In response to sea turtle mortality in trawl nets, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service has issued regulations requiring shrimp trawlers of the southeastern and Gulf coasts to have a turtle excluder device (TED) on their nets. This device allows turtles and other large marine life to escape should they enter a net.
Kiawah Island Turtle Patrol to the Rescue
Kiawah Island boasts one of the largest volunteer turtle patrols in the country with well over 100 participants. The Kiawah Island Turtle Patrol is divided in to two groups the nesting patrol, and the hatching patrol.
The nesting patrol which starts in early May and continues through mid-August this group patrols the 10 miles of sandy beaches each morning search for new nesting sites. When a nest site is located a marker is place at the nest site and wire fencing is placed over the nest to prevent raccoons and other predators form destroying the eggs. In some cases if the nest is in a poor site the eggs may be dug up and relocated to a better site on the sand dunes.
The hatching patrol begins in mid-August and end at the end of October. The hatchlings are about the size of a half dollar. The hatchlings orient them selves to the ocean by the light of the moon. Therefore all lights visible from the beach must be off from dusk to daylight from May 15 to the end October. The hatching patrol walks is divided into groups that walk the entire beach looking for signs of hatchlings making their way to the ocean. Once they find a nest with active hatching they mark it and record it. 72 hours after the first indication of hatching the turtle patrol inventories the nest to determine the status of any remaining turtle eggs. Without human intervention the hatch rate of the Loggerhead Sea Turtle eggs is 1-3% with human intervention on Kiawah Island by the Kiawah Island Turtle Patrol the average hatch rate is over 70%.
The Kiawah Island Turtle Patrol 2010 Turtle Season Update
July 23rd: Kiawah has 190 loggerhead sea turtle nests on our beach as of July 23rd! Given that there are roughly two weeks remaining for nesting season, will we reach 200 nests?
July 21st: 184 nests! That is just slightly above our number of nests during a normal nesting season. Yea! Nests are hatching all over the beach these days, so if you head out to the beach late at night or early in the morning, be on the lookout for baby turtles.
May 15th: Kiawah's first nest was laid.
May 7th: The first turtle nest in South Carolina was located this morning! It was laid on Cape Island. Turtle season has officially begun in South Carolina!
I am certain there are turtle patrols along all the barrier islands in South Carolina and most of the southeast coast of the US from Florida to North Carolina. Kiawah Island Turtle Patrol is the one I happen to be familiar with. My hat is off to every member of each turtle patrol for a job well done!
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Sincerely,
"Carolina Joe" Idleman
http://www.charlestonscrealestateforsale.com
