Once Threatened, Sea Turtle Nests Thrive Along the Georgia Coast

Doug Perrine/NPL/Minden Pictures They are not much bigger than silver dollars when they hatch, struggle out of sand and stumble toward the sea, and most do not survive until adulthood. But if their mothers are any indication, these loggerhead sea turtles, once in such trouble they were designated as “threatened” by the federal government four decades ago, are making a comeback off the coast of Georgia. And it is beginning to look as if 2019 could be a record-breaking year, in terms of the number of female turtles who nest there. As of Wednesday evening, 1,779 sea turtle nests had been spotted by researchers along the Georgia coastline this season, which is not yet half-done. Compare that with last year, when the number of nests counted for the entire season was 1,742. (The length of a season varies, but most nesting occurs between May and September, with a peak in June or July.) The record year was 2016, when nearly 3,300 nests were counted along the Georgia coastline. “So far it’s pretty comparable to 2016, which was our biggest year on record,” said Doug Hoffman, a wildlife biologist with the National Park Service, of the patrolling efforts on Cumberland […]

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