EMERALD ISLE, N.C. (WNCT) — It is now peak sea turtle hatching season along the North Carolina coast.
Nests can have anywhere from 80 to 120 eggs, and once hatched, the baby turtles must make their way to the ocean.
During their trek to the ocean, they have to worry about predators like crabs and birds, along with issues caused by humans like pollution.
“We have trouble with folks leaving big holes where the moms and the hatchlings fall into these holes that people dig and don’t fill back in, or a big sandcastle where they can’t go through it or a hatchling can’t go through the big sandcastle. So those are like just leaving the beach, kind of how you found it, because that is their nesting ground,” said Michele Lamping, N.C. Aquarium sea turtle specialist.
The eggs typically hatch at night, but there is no way to tell when.
