The loggerhead sea turtle is South Carolina’s state reptile, an air-breathing sea creature which has a natural connection to the land. On my tour, we sometimes sea turtles popping up for air in #Charleston Harbor, but typically, they are most active in the area this time of year after dark. During the summer, huge female loggerheads, weighing as much as 300 pounds, drag themselves out of the surf on remote beaches and lay eggs by digging shallow holes in the sand near dunes at night. Usually the mother lays about 40 golf-ball sized eggs, then covers them up with sand and drags herself back into the sea. About 60 days later, the eggs will hatch, and tiny turtles like the one pictured emerge from the sand no larger than the palm of your hand. They instinctively waddle into the nearby ocean and amazingly, many survive to become massive turtles years later, and repeat the process on another dark Summer night along the South Carolina coastline. <img.src=”Charleston Wildlife” alt=”Loggerhead Sea Turtles”
