Dozens of dead sea turtles found in North Myrtle Beach after Hurricane Isaias
More than 100 sea turtles on North Myrtle Beach appeared to have drowned as a result of the significant storm surge caused by Hurricane Isaias.
With the Cherry Grove section of North Myrtle Beach hit hardest by the Category 1 storm Monday night, Linda Mataya with North Myrtle Beach Sea Turtle Patrol was out on the shore early Tuesday morning with her crew checking on the 10 protected turtle nests, although one was found covered in about a foot of sand.
When the crew approached their first nest, about 115 sea turtles were found dead.
“They either suffocated or drowned last night,” Mataya told The Sun News. “The hatchlings were ready to emerge, but apparently, they were all ready last night when the surge hit.”
It was estimated that Cherry Grove was under at least four-feet of water at some point during the evening high tide, which was compounded by storm surge, according to North Myrtle Beach Spokesperson Pat Dowling. He added that the tide went out slowly but left some streets flooded, as of about 1 a.m.
Mataya said each nest was marked with poles and cages, but when she arrived on the beach Tuesday morning her team was able to locate the poles but not the cage on this particular nest. After some digging, her crew found the turtle cage under about a foot of sand, with the nest cavity located about three additional feet below.
She added there was 121 eggs in that nest with turtles that appeared to be ready to hatch prior to the storm. Of the 121, she said six eggs hadn’t yet developed, three eggs were pit, meaning they started to come out of the egg shell but died, and the remaining 112 were completely hatched and were found to have drowned.
She said her crew was going to spend the morning digging out the remaining nests to ensure the turtle cages are still intact.
This story was originally published August 4, 2020 at 9:25 AM.
